Catalyzing New U.S.-Swedish Collaboration: Howard University-Karolinska Institute Planning Visit for Research on Auditory Mechanics of the Inner Ear

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Through a research planning visit, Dr. Sonya Teresa Smith of Howard University will initiate a collaborative project with Swedish partners Drs. Anders Fridberger and Pierre Hakizimana at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Together, they intend to pursue questions related to human hearing, specifically, auditory transduction and whether it is mediated via fluid-structure interactions in the ear. Drawing on her expertise in engineering and computational fluid dynamics, Dr. Smith has developed a hydrodynamic model that accounts for the complex interactions involved in the transduction process associated with hearing. This model studies the response to stimuli of the inner hair cell stereococila bundle, located in the mammalian inner ear. Her Swedish counterparts have developed high-speed confocal imaging techniques that can be used to measure motions of inner ear structures. The preliminary data derived using Smith's model combined with refined Karolinska experimental techniques is expected to help the team extend their research to include a full range of audible frequencies. If successful, results may contribute to our fundamental understanding of the inner hair cell response to acoustic stimuli at locations all along the cochlea spiral. To build on preliminary findings, the principal investigator plans to submit a follow-on application to the National Science Foundation for collaborative research in computational neuroscience. Likely broader impacts include advances in knowledge of theoretical and practical auditory mechanics with long-term applications foreseen in a range of interdisciplinary fields, including neuroscience and biomedical engineering. Such new insights could have implications for future engineering design of cochlear implants and better techniques for surgical placement. Furthermore, because one U.S. graduate student and one U.S. undergraduate student from Howard University will travel with Dr. Smith to Stockholm and participate in collaborative activities at the Karolinsksa Institute, they too will gain beneficial international research experience. This early career access to expert Swedish experimentals and the specialized equipment they use may inspire the students' career choices and thereby contribute to diversity in the field of auditory mechanics research.