School of Medicine Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center

SHACS: Mario A. Svirsky, PhD - Frequency-Place Maps in Postlingually Deaf Cochlear Implant Users: Hardwired or Plastic?

Thursday, Apr 30, 2026, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. PDT

Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at New York University

The 2025-2026 SHACS lectures will all be held in person, and are free and open to the public.

Event interval: Single day event
Campus location: Haring Center, EEU School (CHSC)
Campus room: Room CD150
Accessibility Contact: lfoy@uw.edu
Event Types: Academics, Lectures/Seminars
Target Audience: Faculty, students, researchers, lab members

SHACS: Derek Houston, PhD - The effects of hearing experience on parent-child interactions during free play: Implications for word learning

Thursday, May 28, 2026, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. PDT

Professor of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences at University of Connecticut

The 2025-2026 SHACS lectures will all be held in person, and are free and open to the public.

Event interval: Single day event
Campus location: Eagleson Hall (EGL)
Campus room: Room 211
Accessibility Contact: lfoy@uw.edu
Event Types: Academics, Lectures/Seminars
Target Audience: Faculty, students, researchers, lab members

Prentice Bloedel Research Day

Thursday, Jun 4, 2026, 12:30 – 6 p.m. PDT

An annual tradition that brings together the wider Bloedel research community for a half-day series of talks followed by a poster session and reception.

*NEW* Lecture titles have been added, and links to the info page, registration and poster submission forms, and downloadable flyer and detailed speaker schedule PDFs.

sites.uw.edu…

Register: forms.cloud.microsoft…
Submit a Poster: forms.cloud.microsoft…
Download Schedule: sites.uw.edu…
Download Flyer: sites.uw.edu…

Talks: 12:30 – 4:30 PM

12:30 PM
Introduction by Jennifer S. Stone, PhD & David L. Horn, MD, MS

12:40 PM              Karl Kandler, PhD
Professor, Department of Neurobiology
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
"Wiring the Lateral Superior Olive: It Takes Three to Tango"

1:10 PM                Olivia Bermingham-McDonogh, PhD
Professor, Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics
University of Washington School of Medicine
"Highlights from Research on Cochlear Development"

1:40 PM                Selina Baeza-Loya, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, UW Department of Otolaryngology-HNS
Affiliate Mentor: David W. Raible, PhD
“Vestibular Hair Cell Patterning in Zebrafish: A Balancing Act”

1:55 PM                Noelle Abbott, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, UW Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences
Affiliate Mentor: Gabriel Cler, PhD
“Auditory Language Processing in Adults with Developmental Language Disorder”

Break: 2:10 – 2:40 PM

2:40 PM                Ruth Litovsky, PhD
Oros Family Professor, Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders
University of Wisconsin
"Maturation of Binaural and Spatial Hearing in Children with Typical Hearing and Bilateral Cochlear Implants”

3:10 PM                Jeffrey Parra Munevar
Graduate Student, UW Department of Neurobiology & Biophysics
Affiliate Mentors: William Spain, PhD & Nikolai Dembrow, PhD
"Regional Specializations of Supragranular Pyramidal Neurons in the Macaque Auditory Cortex"

3:25 PM                Farhin Ahmed, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, UW Department of Otolaryngology-HNS
Affiliate Mentor: Bonnie Lau, PhD, CCC-SLP
“How Do Bilingual and Monolingual Brains Respond to an Unfamiliar Language?”

3:40 PM                Bonnie Lau, PhD, CCC-SLP
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology-HNS
University of Washington School of Medicine
"Two Ears Are Better Than One: From Brain to Behavior in Developing Listeners"

4:10 PM
Closing Remarks by Jay T. Rubinstein, MD, PhD

Poster Session & Reception: 4:30 – 6:00 PM

Please reach out to the event hosts or administrative support staff with any questions:

Event Host: David L. Horn, MD, MS (david.horn@seattlechildrens.org)
Event Host: Jennifer S. Stone, PhD (stoner@uw.edu)
Admin Staff: Llyne Foy (lfoy@uw.edu)
Admin Staff: Wendy James (wsjames@uw.edu)

Event interval: Single day event
Campus location: Haring Center, EEU School (CHSC)
Campus room: CD150 Auditorium
Accessibility Contact: lfoy@uw.edu
Event Types: Academics, Lectures/Seminars, Special Events
Target Audience: Faculty, students, trainees, researchers, lab staff
More info: sites.uw.edu…

VMBHRC Presents: Craig A. Buchman, MD, FACS - Simultaneous Multi-Electrode Recordings Along Human Scala Tympani: Evidence for Level Dependent Coding

Thursday, Jun 11, 2026, 3 – 4 p.m. PDT

Craig A. Buchman, MD, FACS is a Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Utah and is a practicing neurotologist for more than 25 years. He has an international reputation for his contributions in the field of cochlear implantation. Dr. Buchman and his colleagues described the use of electrocochleography in cochlear implantation (circa 2006) and has an active, NIH-funded research program that uses this technology for Cochlear Implant Performance Prediction. He has trained more than 200 residents and neurotology fellows in the field. He served as the Lindburg Professor and Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis from 2015-2025.

Event interval: Single day event
Campus location: Haring Center, EEU School (CHSC)
Campus room: Room CD150
Accessibility Contact: lfoy@uw.edu
Event Types: Academics, Lectures/Seminars
Target Audience: Faculty, students, researchers, lab members