UCL Ear Institute
Encyclopedia
The UCL Ear Institute is an academic department of the Faculty of Brain Sciences of University College London (UCL)
located in London
, United Kingdom
. The Institute is based next to the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, the UK's largest ear, nose and throat hospital, on Gray's Inn Road
in the Bloomsbury
district of Central London
.
Together with the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, the Institute constitutes the largest centre for audiological research in Europe.
was awarded to UCL to build a Centre for Auditory Research to bring together auditory research scientists and clinicians from across the university. The new centre was linked to the long standing Institute of Laryngology and Otology (ILO) and its incorporated School of Audiology. In order to provide this cross-faculty, multidisciplinary group with a new, unifying identity the ILO was disestablished and the UCL Ear Institute created on 1 January 2005. Prof Tony Wright was its first director, followed by Prof David McAlpine from June 2006. In December 2006 the results of tests carried out at the Institute were published which showed that many children's toys available that Christmas could damage a child's hearing. In February 2007 the Widex Noise Report, a major survey of noise levels in 41 English towns and cities authored by Deepak Prasher of the UCL Ear Institute, was published. In July 2008 the UCL Ear Institute participated in an architectural jelly competition, with the sound of the competing structures being recorded in one of the Institute's anechoic chambers. In March 2010 a team including Professor Martin Birchall of the UCL Ear Institute performed the windpipe transplant with a whole tissue engineered windpipe organ crafted from the patient's own stem cells. In the same month a team from the Institute began a major study to investigate the role of the brain in the auditory process. In August 2010 Aura Satz, the UCL Ear Institute's artist-in-residence, exhibited the results of her work at the Institute in 'Location, location, location' at the Jerwood Space
gallery in London. In January 2011 a team including Professor Martin Birchall of the UCL Ear Institute performed the world's second voice box transplant. In June 2011 it was reported that Professor Martin Birchall had been granted permission by the Royal College of Surgeons to carry out the first voicebox transplant trials in the UK.
At undergraduate level the Institute currently offers the BSc in Audiology, a four-year degree course leading to qualification to practise as an audiologist in the NHS and elsewhere. The degree extends across the field to include acoustics
; the understanding of normal hearing and balance function, the clinical diagnosis and rehabilitation of their disorders, speech perception and language development; paediatric clinical assessments; cochlear implants; tinnitus
; and hearing therapy.
At postgraduate level the Institute currently offers the following courses:
Three- and four-year PhD programmes are available in a wide range of basic and clinical disciplines, including genetics
, cell and molecular biology, auditory neuroscience and human auditory function.
and the NHS
. The libraries are based at the Royal National Throat Nose & Ear Hospital and together constitute the largest specialist collection for audiology
, deaf studies, and otorhinolaryngologic
medicine in Europe
. As well as providing services to staff and students at UCL, RNID, and the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust
, the libraries are open to the public and provide reference and enquiry services to anyone conducting relevant research.
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
located in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The Institute is based next to the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, the UK's largest ear, nose and throat hospital, on Gray's Inn Road
Gray's Inn Road
Gray's Inn Road, formerly Gray's Inn Lane, is a major road in central London, in the London Borough of Camden. It is named after Gray's Inn, one of the main Inns of Court. The road starts in Holborn, near Chancery Lane tube station and the boundaries of the City of London and the London Borough...
in the Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
district of Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
.
Together with the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, the Institute constitutes the largest centre for audiological research in Europe.
History
In 2000 an £11m grant from the Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...
was awarded to UCL to build a Centre for Auditory Research to bring together auditory research scientists and clinicians from across the university. The new centre was linked to the long standing Institute of Laryngology and Otology (ILO) and its incorporated School of Audiology. In order to provide this cross-faculty, multidisciplinary group with a new, unifying identity the ILO was disestablished and the UCL Ear Institute created on 1 January 2005. Prof Tony Wright was its first director, followed by Prof David McAlpine from June 2006. In December 2006 the results of tests carried out at the Institute were published which showed that many children's toys available that Christmas could damage a child's hearing. In February 2007 the Widex Noise Report, a major survey of noise levels in 41 English towns and cities authored by Deepak Prasher of the UCL Ear Institute, was published. In July 2008 the UCL Ear Institute participated in an architectural jelly competition, with the sound of the competing structures being recorded in one of the Institute's anechoic chambers. In March 2010 a team including Professor Martin Birchall of the UCL Ear Institute performed the windpipe transplant with a whole tissue engineered windpipe organ crafted from the patient's own stem cells. In the same month a team from the Institute began a major study to investigate the role of the brain in the auditory process. In August 2010 Aura Satz, the UCL Ear Institute's artist-in-residence, exhibited the results of her work at the Institute in 'Location, location, location' at the Jerwood Space
Jerwood Space
Jerwood Space is an arts venue at Bankside on Union Street, Southwark, London. The facilities include rehearsal studios, gallery/exhibition space, meeting rooms, a café, etc. Exhibits include contemporary art and photography throughout the building....
gallery in London. In January 2011 a team including Professor Martin Birchall of the UCL Ear Institute performed the world's second voice box transplant. In June 2011 it was reported that Professor Martin Birchall had been granted permission by the Royal College of Surgeons to carry out the first voicebox transplant trials in the UK.
Education
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
; the understanding of normal hearing and balance function, the clinical diagnosis and rehabilitation of their disorders, speech perception and language development; paediatric clinical assessments; cochlear implants; tinnitus
Tinnitus
Tinnitus |ringing]]") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period , ear...
; and hearing therapy.
At postgraduate level the Institute currently offers the following courses:
- MSc in Audiology for ENT practice
- MSc in Audiological Science
- MSc/PGDip Audiovestibular Medicine
- MSc/PGDip in voice pathology
- MSc in Advanced Audiology
Three- and four-year PhD programmes are available in a wide range of basic and clinical disciplines, including genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, cell and molecular biology, auditory neuroscience and human auditory function.
Library
The UCL Ear Institute and RNID Libraries are a collaborative venture between UCL, The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID)Royal National Institute for Deaf People
Action on Hearing Loss, formerly known as The Royal National Institute for Deaf People is a charitable organization working on behalf of the UK's 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people. The head office of RNID is in Islington, Central London . Its President is Lord Ashley of Stoke. The Chief...
and the NHS
National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
. The libraries are based at the Royal National Throat Nose & Ear Hospital and together constitute the largest specialist collection for audiology
Audiology
Audiology is the branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Its practitioners, who treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage are audiologists. Employing various testing strategies Audiology (from Latin , "to hear"; and from Greek , -logia) is...
, deaf studies, and otorhinolaryngologic
Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders....
medicine in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. As well as providing services to staff and students at UCL, RNID, and the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust
Royal Free Hospital
The Royal Free Hospital is a major teaching hospital in Hampstead, London, England and part of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust....
, the libraries are open to the public and provide reference and enquiry services to anyone conducting relevant research.