Hearing research is a small field compared to other areas of research. It attracts a disproportionately low amount of funding compared to the number of people affected.
We need to increase the number of hearing research leaders in the UK so that they can attract more funding, grow the field and speed up the development of treatments for hearing loss and tinnitus.
Who we’ve supported
Since 2000, we’ve invested over £7 million into our future leaders. Our researchers have gone on to impact the research field, publishing hundreds of articles that have informed other research more than 35,000 times.
Many of these researchers have stayed in the field and gone on to establish their own labs, such as Zoe and Emma.
Dr Zoe Mann, Senior Lecturer at King’s College London:
I was awarded a Pauline Ashley Fellowship from RNID. The Fellowship was the springboard I needed to help me become an independent researcher – it allowed me to gather preliminary data for my own ideas which then led to me applying for larger grants. It was a real turning point for me – without RNID’s support at that point, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am today.”
Dr Emma Holmes is an Associate Professor at University College London:
My RNID Fellowship was a crucial stepping-stone for setting up my own research group at UCL. The Fellowship led to me obtaining a Wellcome Trust Career Development Award, an eight-year grant that funds me to conduct my research and supports my team as well. It allows me to employ other people in my lab – so far, it has funded a post-doctoral researcher and a PhD student as well as the costs of their research.”
What we’re doing now
We support researchers at the beginning of their careers by funding:
- fellowships to support post-PhD researchers as they begin to make the transition towards becoming an independent hearing researcher
- summer placements as part of in2scienceUK’s In2Research scheme, providing opportunities for undergraduates from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain experience of working in a lab and to consider a career in hearing research
- PhD studentships to train the hearing scientists of tomorrow.
What we’ll work towards in the next 25 years
Our future work will focus on developing:
- increasing the number of researchers working to find treatments for hearing loss and tinnitus in the UK and globally
- making sure the first treatments to prevent hearing loss, restore hearing and silence tinnitus are available in the clinic where they can benefit those who want them.
