ELGOYHEN Ana Belén

Scientific prizes - 2018

The 2018 Fondation Pour l’Audition Scientific Grand Prize has been awarded to Prof. Ana Bélen Elgoyhen for her discovery of the mechanisms for naturally protecting hearing in the inner ear.

Project status: closed

When speech or a sound enters the ear, it is accompanied by other signals such as background noise or loudness, which can damage the auditory system. Hearing is dynamic system that has set up protective barriers.

In particular, there is a natural protection mechanism controlled by the brain, which filters background noise and reduces the volume of incoming signals. This enables the relevant auditory signal to be refined so it can be transmitted to the brain without interference signals.

Prof. Elgoyhen, director of the Institute for Research on Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology (INGEBI-CONICET) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, has discovered two essential genes involved in this protective mechanism:

  • Cholinergic receptor nicotinic alpha 9 subunit, discovered in 1994, and
  • Cholinergic receptor nicotinic alpha 10 subunit, discovered in 2001

Hearing science experts have suspected the existence of these proteins for decades without being able to find them. Ana Bélen Elgoyhen is the first to discover them.

These proteins play a key role in this mechanism for protecting and controlling hearing, which is essential for health hearing, enabling effective communication between the inner ear and the brain. They also provide protection from acoustic trauma.

Prof. Elgoyhen’s discovery has made a significant contribution to improving our understanding of the role of a new family of inner ear genes involved in controlling and protecting hearing. This work leads the way to new therapeutic approaches for protection the inner ear from damage, hyperacusis, acoustic trauma and tinnitus.

Professor Ana Bélen Elgoyhen
Director
Institute for Research on Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology (INGEBI-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

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