*PLEASE NOTE* CAPITA FOUNDATION HAS COMPLETED ITS TRANSITION TO PROJECT BLUEWATER RACING AND ANNUAL FUNDING FOR HEARING RESEARCH PROJECTS HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED. WE THANK ALL THE HARD WORKING RESEARCH SCIENTISTS WE HAVE COMMUNICATED WITH OVER THE PAST 24 YEARS THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO PROVIDING IMPORTANT DATA AND CLINICAL TREATMENT, IMPROVING THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS WITH HEARING DISSORDERS.

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2022

• Pelin Koçdor, MD | Başkent University, Koç University, Istanbul, TURKEY | Project: "An attempt to show endolymphatic hydrops and its treatment in a nitroglycerin-induced animal model of migraine"
• Alessia Paglialonga, Ph.D. | National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Electronics, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering | Project: "Widespread Hearing Impairment Screening and Prevention of Risk" (WHISPER) | Continued Funding from 2020
• Christopher Waterworth, Ph.D. | University of Melbourne, AUSTRALIA | Project: "Global Audiology Baseline Needs Assessment"

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2021

• Brian M. McDermott Jr., Ph.D. | Case Western Reserve University | Project: "Understanding and implementing the self-healing capacity of the auditory hair bundle for the treatment of hearing-impaired children in the US"
• Vibhuti Agrahari, Ph.D. | University of Oklahoma | Project: "ROS-responsive NanoSensoGel for Prevention of Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity and Hearing Loss"
• Saad Bhamla, Ph.D. | Georgia Tech University | Project: (LoCHAid) "A low-cost, open-source and self-fitting hearing aid”

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2020

• Alessia Paglialonga, Ph.D. | National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Electronics, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering | Project: "Widespread Hearing Impairment Screening and Prevention of Risk" (WHISPER)
• Daniel Q. Sun, M.D. | Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine | Project: "Treatment of hearing loss using a novel magnetic nanoparticle gene delivery platform.
• Mridula Sharma, Ph.D. | Macquarie University, NSW, AUSTRALIA | Project: "Effect of age and background noise on cortical EEG entrainment to natural conversation: a preliminary study in adults with hearing loss."
• Soroush Sadeghi, M.D., Ph.D. | State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo | Project: "Improving the vestibular nerve function by pharmacological manipulation of the inner ear."
• Valerio Magnaghi, Ph.D. | University of Milan, ITALY | Project: "Unrevealing mechanisms of Schwann cell in vestibular schwannoma and their impact on hearing loss: follow on study."

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2019

• Dr Amineh Koravand | University of Ottawa | Project: “Investigating the Temporal Resolution Capacity in School Aged Children via Neurophysiological Measurement. Pilot Study.”

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2018

• Daniel A. Llano, Ph.D. | University of Illinois at Urbana & Champaign | Project: “An exercise intervention to prevent aging-related hearing loss in a mouse model.”
• Josée Lagacé, Ph.D. and Benoît Jutras, Ph.D. | University of Ottawa | Project: “Virtual Reality For Auditory Training Therapy: A Pilot Study.”
• Madhu Sundarrajan, Ph.D. | University of the Pacific | Project: “Audiological and Communication Outcomes in Children with Unilateral Hearing Loss: A Pilot Study.”
• Matthew J. Wilson, Ph.D. | Northern Illinois University | Project: “Relationship Between Cognitive Changes and Speech-in-Noise Deficits in Individuals with a History of Concussion: An Efferent System Study.”
• Philippe Vincent, Ph.D. | Johns Hopkins University | Project: “Investigating mechanisms of degeneration of ribbon synapses between auditory inner hair cells and type 1 afferent nerve fibers after noise trauma in mammals.”
• Valerio Magnaghi, Ph.D. | University of Milan | Project: “Unrevealing mechanisms of Schwann cell in vestibular schwannoma and their impact on hearing loss.”
• Saad M. Bhamla, Ph.D. | Georgia Tech | Project: "Development of accessible hearing aid technologies"

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2017

• Alisha L. Jones, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A | Auburn University | Project: “The effects of auditory training on acceptable noise levels”
• Jacopo M. Fontana, Ph.D. | Karolinska Institutet - Sweden | Project: “Gender Differences to Noise Trauma in the Mouse Cochlea Abstract”
• Victor Wong, Ph.D. | Burke Medical Research Institute | Project: “Microtubule Dynamics and Microtubule-Based Transport in Spiral Ganglion Neurons”
• Dunia Abdul-Aziz, M.D. | Massachusetts Eye and Ear Institute | Project: “Generation of Inner Ear Organoids and ATOH1 – Reporter to Study Hair Cell Differentiation”
• Dr. Andrew Wise | Bionics Institute - Australia | Project: “Drug delivery to the cochlea for synaptic repair”

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2016

• Clas Linnman, Ph.D. | Boston Children's Hospital | Project: “Pilot evaluation of auditory mirror therapy for tinnitus”

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2015

• Amanda Lauer, Ph.D. | Johns Hopkins University | Project: “Optimixing hearing with top-down brain control of the ear”
• Sanjee Abeytunge | The Rockefeller University, New York | Project: “A Novel Micro-probe for Direct Stimulation of Cochlear Hair Cells”

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2014

• Didier A. Depireux, Ph.D | University of Maryland | Project: “Optimizing delivery of drugs to the middle ear without tympanostomy”
• Jason Beyea, M.D., Ph.D. | Ohio State University | Project: “Cochlear Hair Cell Regeneration using Adipose Stem Cells in NIHL”

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2013

• Alain Dabdaub, Ph.D. | Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto | Project: “Induction of cochlear neurons by defined transcription factors”
• Daniel Bendor, Ph.D. | University College London | Project: “Optimizing the encoding of temporal information in an auditory cortical prosthetic”
• James Simmons, Ph.D. | Brown University | Project: “A Novel Biological Model for Protection from Noise-Induced Hearing Loss”
• Kazuaki Homma, Ph.D. | Northwestern University | Project: “Investigating Prestin’s Role in Outer Hair Cell Survival”
• Lina Reiss, Ph.D. | Oregon Health & Sciences University | Project: “Effects of Changing Frequency-to-Electrode Maps on Electrode Pitch Plasticity and Discrimination with Cochlear Implants”
• Mark Bassim, Ph.D. | American University of Beirut | Project: “Congenital Hearing Loss in the Middle East Area: Generating Patient-Specific iPS Cells to Model the Disease”
• Jason Beyea, M.D., Ph.D. | Ohio State University | Project: “Cochlear Hair Cell Regeneration using Adipose Stem Cells in NIHL”

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2012

• Allison Coffin, Ph.D. | Washington State University, Vancouver | Project: “The effects of estrogen on hair cell survival and efficient hearing: A next - generation mRNA - sequencing approach”
• Claus-Peter Richter, M.D., Ph.D. | Northwestern University | Project: “Non-auditory cortical centers help speech processing”
• Fuxin Shi, Ph.D. | Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Harvard Medical School | Project: “A Molecular Signaling Approach To Treatment of Deafness in Infants”
• Joe C. Adams, Ph.D. | Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Harvard Medical School | Project: “Inner Ear Lymphatics and Cochlear Inflammatory Responses”
• Ruth Van Nispen, Ph.D. | VU University Medical Center Amsterdam | Project: “Evaluating cost-effectiveness of a Dual-Sensory Loss treatment protocol in vision and hearing impaired older adults”
• Sabrina Yum, Ph.D. | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and The University of Pennsylvania | Project: “Defining the role of ER stress associated with deafness GJB2/Cx26 mutations”
• Valeriy Shafiro, Ph.D. | Rush University Medical Center | Project: “Environmental sound and speech perception in relation to language development in children with cochlear implants”
• Andrew Sabin, PhD | Ear Machine | Project: Hearing Aid Genome Project”

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2011

• Adrian Fuente, Ph. D. | The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia | Project: "Age-Related Changes in the Central Auditory Nervous System and Hearing Aid Benefit in Older Adults"
• Carol De Filippo, Ph.D. and Catherine Clark, Au.D. | Rochester Institute of Technology | Project: "Improving Speech Perception in Prelingually Deaf Listeners: Exploring a Novel Training Concept"
• Daniel J. Guillaume, M.D., M.Sc. | Oregon Health Science University |Project: "Evaluation of Hearing Loss in Children After Two Different Treatments for Hydrocephalus"
• Ikaro Silva, Ph.D. and Leo Celi, Ph.D. | Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology |Project: "Hearing Loss Screening Through Cell Phones"
• John Ramcharitar, Ph.D | St. Mary's College of Maryland | Project: "Physiological Assessment of Ototoxicity and Octoprotection In New Zealand"
• Jonah Kohn | San Diego 8th Grade Student | Project: "Music Through Multi-Frequency Tactile Sound"
• Martin Schwander, Ph.D | Rutgers University | Project: "Role of Gasdermins in Auditory Function and Hearing Loss"
• Michelle Hastings, Ph.D | Rosalind Franklin University of Health Sciences | Project: Development of Antisense Oligonucleotides as a therapy for Usher Syndrome"
• Radha Kalluri, Ph.D. | House Research Institute | Project: “Improving Methods for Assessing Inner Ear Health in Infants”
• Seth Horowitz, Ph.D. | Oregon State University | Project: "Music and Sleep Study"
• Yang Zhang, Ph.D | University of Minnesota | Project: "Investigating Neural Mechanisms for Listening Through Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid"

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2010

• Alan Robinson, Ph.D. | Northwestern University | Project: “Evaluation of minocycline action for the protection of hearing following ototoxic antibiotic treatment and noise exposure”
• Amir Lahav, Sc.D., Ph.D. | Brigham and Women's Hospital | Project: "Auditory Brain Development and Hearing Outcomes in Preterm Newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit"
• Derek J. Stiles, Ph.D., CCC-A | Rush University Medical Center | Project: "Assessment of Hearing Aid Benefit for Infants with Hearing Loss by Analyzing Changes in Cry Spectra"
• Henry Ou, Ph.D | Seattle Children’s Hospital and University of Washington | Project: "Use of fluorescently-conjugated cisplatin to study the uptake of cisplatin into hair cells"
• Kiriaki Domenica Karavitaki, Ph.D. | Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurobiology | Project: "Investigating the consequences of deafness mutations on hair bundle nanomechanics"
• Lauren Calandruccio, Ph.D., CCC | Queens College - City University New York | Project: "Normative data for new sentence-recognition materials developed specifically for non-native speakers of English
• Peter Torre III, Ph.D., M.S. | San Diego State University | Project: "The Effects of Personal Music System Use on Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions"
• Ruth van Nispen, Ph.D. | VU University Medical Center Amsterdam | Project: "Development of a Duel Sensory Loss-protocol in vision and hearing impaired older adults"

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2009

• Zheng-Yi Chen, D. Phil. | Harvard medical School | Project: (2nd year funding) "Identification and analysis of inner ear stem cell genes"
• Derron Herr, Ph.D. | Scripps Research institute | Project: (2nd year funding) "Exploring new modalities for the treatment of hearing loss thru the study of SIP signaling"
• Karen A. Doherty, Ph.D. CCC-A | Syracuse University | Project: "Improving communication for older hospital patents with assistive listening devices"
• Avril Genene Holt, Ph.D. | Wayne State University School of medicine | Project: "Control of Auditory Neurons via Light Gated Channels following Deafness"
• Monika Kordus, Ph.D. | University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics | Project: "Improving Binaural Fitting Procedures of Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant through Loudness Judgments throughout the Dynamic Range"
• Lisa Goodrich, Ph.D. | Harvard Medical School | Project: "Rewiring the Cochlea: A Genetic Screen for Regulators of Auditory Circuit Assembly"

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2008

• Alan Robinson, Ph.D. | Northwestern University | Project: “Inhibition of apoptosis as a means to mitigate hearing loss in mice”
• Peter A. Santi, Ph.D. | University of Minnesota | Project: “Thin-Sheet Laseer Imaging Mocroscope (Phase II T-SLIM)”
• Zheng-Yi Chen, D. Phil. | Harvard medical School | Project: "Identification and analysis of inner ear stem cell genes"
• Michael J. Epstein, Ph.D. | Northeastern University | Project: "Automated procedures for the estimation of individual loudness-growth functions for improved hearing-aid fitting"
• Derron Herr, Ph.D. | Scripps Research institute | Project: "Exploring new modalities for the treatment of hearing loss thru the study of SIP signaling"
• Victor Pikov, Ph.D. | Huntington Medical Research Institute | Project: "Tinnitus - related pathophysiology in the cochlear nucleus"

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS 2007

• Peter A Santi, Ph.D. | University of Minnesota | Project: “High Resolution Imaging of the Cochlea in an x-Linked Alport Mouse Model”
• Paul Webster, Ph.D. | House Ear Institute | Project: “Identifying and Treating Biofilm Infections Associated with Otitis Media”

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2006

• Joseph Donaher, Ph.D. and Kevin Frank, Ph.D. | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia | Project: “SANDBOX" (Simulated Activities of Naturalistic Disclosure)
• Peter A Santi, Ph.D. | University of Minnesota | Project: “Thin-Sheet Laser Imaging Illuminatotr”
• Clause-Peter Richter, Ph.D. | Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine | Project: "The current distribution in the cochlea and coding of acoustic information"

CAPITA FOUNDATION GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR 2005

• Kevin Frank, Ph.D. | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia | Project: "Testing the perceptual limits of acoustic and electric hearing in children using cochlear implants"
• Clause-Peteter Richtetr, Ph.D. | Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine | Project: "Optical stimulation a novel principle for neural interfaces"

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS SUPPORTED BY THE CAPITA FOUNDATION

• Analysis of parameters for the estimation of loudness from toneburst otoacoustic emissions - Michael Epstein, Ph.D. and Ikaro Silvaa Estimation of Postaverage SNR from Evoked Responses Under Nonstationary Noise – Ikaro Silva (medline)
• Optical Stimulation of the Facial Nerve: A New Monitoring Technique? - Ingo Ulrik Teudt, MD; Adam E. Nevel, BS; Agnella D. Izzo, PhD; Joseph T. Walsh, Jr, PhD; Claus-Peter Richter, MD, PhDD (medline)
• Laser Stimulation of the Auditory Nerve - Agnella D. Izzo, MS, Claus-Peter Richter, MD, PhD, E. Duco Jansen, PhD, and Joseph T. Walsh, Jr., Ph.D. (medline)
• Selectivity of optical stimulation in the auditory system - Agnella D. Izzo, Jyoti Pathria, Eul Suh, Joseph T. Walsh, Jr., Donna S. Whitlon, E. Duco Jansen, and Claus-Peter Richterr (medline)
• Laser stimulation of auditory neurons at high repetition rate - Agnella D. Izzo,, Philip Littlefield, Joseph T. Walsh, Jr., Jim Webb, Heather Ralph, Mark Bendett, E. Duco Jansen, and Claus-Peter Richter
• Optical Parameter Variability in Laser Nerve Stimulation: a study of pulse duration, repetition rate, and wavelength - Agnella D. Izzo, Joseph T. Walsh, Jr., E. Duco Jansen, Mark Bendett, Jim Webb, Heather Ralph, and Claus-Peter Richter (medline)
• Optical stimulation of the auditory system – Richter, C.-P., Izzo, A. D., Pathria, J., Suh, E., Jansen, E. D., Walsh Jr., J.T. (ARO Conference 2006) • Selectivity of optical stimulation in the auditory system - Izzo, A. D., Pathria, J., Jansen, E. D., Richter, C.-P.
• Development of a thin-sheet laser illuminator for optical sectioning – Peter Santi, Tiffany Glass, Dave Hultman, James Leger, and Dauda Mawanda (ARO Conference 2007) (medline)