Excited Ear Science Staff gathered at the Ralph and Patricia Sarich building in April to welcome our Patron, The Honorable Malcolm McCusker AC CVO QC CitWA, and Tonya McCusker AM to tour the facilities and view our research projects firsthand.
Adjunct Professor Rob Eikelboom presented some of our biggest clinical research projects, including a diagnostic test to identify hearing loss and assist in preventing dementia. Dr Dona Jayakody, the dementia-cognition project lead, provided an exciting update on our ground-breaking hearing loss and cognition research. Together, Dr Jayakody and her team are hard at work finding new tools and treatments.
After the McCusker family were given the full testing experience with Researcher Jack Goodman-Simpson, Ear Science Clinic Manager Angela Liew discussed how these tests are then translated directly into practice. At Ear Science, translational research – that is, turning our research findings into real treatments – is a major focus.
Adjunct Professor Rodney Dilley provided an outline of the basic research projects currently underway, taking our guests through the laboratory. The McCusker family first heard about ClearDrum®, an implantable silk membrane that repairs damaged eardrums, similar in appearance and size to a contact lens.
Next, Professor Marcus Atlas and Dr Elaine Wong introduced the family to an exciting development in treating the ear cell damage which causes hearing loss, a ground-breaking project.
Throughout the day, a number of staff showed the McCusker family how research progressed from start to finish with each piece of highly specialised equipment.
