In addition to providing their patients with the highest-quality care, many of our audiologists are also actively conducting research. The research they work on is instrumental in pushing the field of audiology forward. The team members are able to take the information they learn from these projects and implement them into real-world applications. Below are just a few of the topics are researchers are working on:
Dr. Rupa Balachandran’s research is on speech perception by adults with hearing impairment, Central Auditory Processing Disorders (CAPD) and hearing loss as a public health and patient safety issue.
Dr. Jiong (Joe) Hu focuses his research on auditory electrophysiology and neuroplasticity. His most recent studies were aimed at examining the effect background noise has on the brain’s ability to process pitch in the aging population. His is also conducting research on newborns and young infants, as well as bilingual adults.
Dr. Gabriella Musacchia studies speech and music processing from infancy to young adulthood. Her current work focuses on developing brain response methods of hearing loss detection and inter-personal dynamic measurement.
Dr. Jennifer Henderson Sabes is an assistant professor in the Department of Audiology at the University of Pacific. Dr. Henderson Sabes has worked as a clinical audiologist and held positions in clinical research and basic science laboratories using methodology ranging from single unit recordings to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Her areas of research involve the novel methods of diagnosis, monitoring and treatment for hearing loss and tinnitus. She has published numerous papers focused on tinnitus, chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicities and auditory rehabilitation. Dr. Henderson Sabes is the co-inventor of the LACE (Listening and Communication Enhancement) program.
Dr. Jayaganesh Swaminathan’s research involves the coordinated use of electrophysiology, physiology based modeling and (monaural and binaural) speech psychophysics. He has extensive experience working with automatic speech recognition systems, developing low-latency speech enhancement algorithms in hearing devices, computational modeling, psychophysics and electroencephalography based research in humans and animal models. Currently, Dr. Swaminathan is involved in a number of projects in collaboration with the academic and clinical faculty at the University of the Pacific and with investigators at Boston University and Boys Town National Research Hospital.
While our researchers are the driving force behind these projects, nothing could be done without volunteers. If you are interested in participating in ongoing or upcoming research studies, please email us at audiology@pacific.edu.