The immune response to cochlear implantation

Cochlear implantation (CI) is a life-transforming technology for severe to profound deafness that restores access to sound via a small implant within the hearing part of the inner ear (cochlea) which delivers an electrical signal to the hearing system. Over 600,000 individuals around the world use CI, with as many as a further 10-15 million potentially benefitting in future. Scientific knowledge about how the electrode implanted inside the delicate inner ear interacts with local biology is still surprisingly limited. A key aspect of this is the response of the immune system to implantation; this results in intra-cochlear scarring (fibrosis) which develops over the lifetime of use of the device (as shown by post mortem studies from CI users). This limits hearing performance and can lead to growth of bone in the cochlea and the need to explant the device. There is great but untapped potential to target drug delivery to manage and reduce fibrosis and the local immune reaction in the cochlea, and make the next step change in clinical outcomes and widened candidacy. This is an exciting opportunity to undertake cutting-edge work in a developing field at the intersection between basic biology, clinical and engineering sciences, with real potential to change the lives of those with severe to profound deafness for the better.

If successful, you would investigate and develop new methods to assess the immune reaction to cochlear implantation, focusing on biological studies of the reaction of the inner ear to the implant device. This would involve you further developing a model of implantation, investigating new forms of cochlear implant electrode to determine how their properties influences the inner ear’s tissue reaction to implantation, an undertaking tissue analysis of explanted CI electrode arrays, and relating these findings to clinical findings.

The project would particularly suit a student with either a bioengineering or biomedical background, but training in a range of methods will be provided, and consideration would be given to those with other engineering or health science backgrounds.

This PhD project will be funded as part of the UK governments new Industrial Strategy. An industrial sponsor is invovled and there is potential to undertake an industrial visit linked to the project. The scholarship will cover full UK fees and a stipend of between £16k and £18k per year depending on academic qualifications.

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Carl Verschuur in the Auditory Implant Service, Email: [Email Address Removed], Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 3989 or Email Tracey Newman ([Email Address Removed]).