Sharon Kujawa, PhD is an associate professor of Otology and Laryngology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Department of Audiology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. Work in the Kujawa lab is directed toward understanding the mechanisms by which normal cochlear function is compromised by aging and noise trauma. She studies how susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss is shaped by genetic background, how it alters the way ears and hearing age, and how it can be manipulated pharmacologically to reveal underlying mechanisms or for treatment or prevention.

Her co-presenter, Steven D. Rauch, MD is a professor of Otology and Laryngology at Harvard Medical School and a senior surgeon on the Otology Service at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. He is co-chair of Research Training in his department and chair of the Human Studies Committee of the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary. He divides his time between the clinical practice of otology, teaching, and research. His research focus is on combined disorders of hearing and balance, with special attention to Meniere’s syndrome and sudden deafness.

1 Brown Bag: Age Related Changes in Hearing and Balance