Edwin Rubel wins otolaryngology association's highest award

Edwin Rubel, Virginia Merrill Bloedel Professor of Hearing Science, has won the Award of Merit from the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO).

The annual Award of Merit, the organization's highest honor, is given to a person who has made an outstanding scientific contribution to the field of otolaryngology and hearing sciences.

Rubel is professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, and of physiology and biophysics, and founder of the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center. His research focuses on understanding the cellular processes involved in the development of information processing in the auditory system and the effects of experience on brain development.

Rubel also pioneered the study of hair cells, the cochlea's protein-filled protrusions that receive and convey sound signals. He led a group of researchers who discovered hair cells can regenerate in some animals. The research helped shift the focus of much hearing loss research to hair cell regeneration.

He will receive the award at the ARO annual meeting in February.