Mission

Virginia Merrill Bloedel

The Center's missions are the discovery of new fundamental knowledge about hearing and balance and disorders of hearing and balance, and the application of these findings toward improved diagnostic methods and therapies.

The Center envisions the University of Washington as a premiere institution in the quest to conquer deafness and disequilibrium by prevention and by restoring hearing and balance through repair and regeneration. This vision is based on past performance, work in progress, and long range planning for research in the molecular and genetic mechanisms that control the development, function, and regeneration of the audiovestibular systems.

The Center values the innovative pursuit of knowledge, rigorous scientific integrity, and classical scholarship in a collegial environment characterized by teamwork, information sharing, and mutual respect.

The Center's mission is carried out through multidisciplinary fundamental and clinical research, research training, information dissemination to the professions, and public education.

History and Vision

Prentice Bloedel, Founder

Since the 1970s, UW scientists have made major contributions to research in communication disorders. During the past decade, through advances in biological techniques and computer technology, progress toward understanding the biological foundations of both normal and impaired hearing has been particularly rapid. UW scientists have made significant advances in many areas of human communication, such as inner ear hair cell regeneration, cochlear implants, hearing development, testing methods for children and disabled individuals, and otoacoustic emissions.

In 1988, a multi-million dollar competitive award from the National Institutes of Health was granted to the UW, enabling eight senior investigators to study factors that influence hearing and auditory system development. An article in a local newspaper on Dr. Rubel's breakthrough work on inner ear hair cell regeneration caught the attention of Mr. Prentice Bloedel. His wife, Virginia Merrill Bloedel, suffered from a progressive and, ultimately, profound hearing loss. The Bloedels wanted to help others with similar difficulties by providing the best environment for rapid advancement in hearing research. The Bloedels funded a generous endowment that helps support the ongoing operations of the Center.

Center Focus

VMBHRC Offices

In 1995, the Center moved from offices and laboratories scattered across the UW campus and the city of Seattle into its permanent home next to the UW Medical Center. The move marked a turning point in the Center's life: from a vision to a physical reality. It is a place where researchers can work together under the same roof and meet on a regular basis to share ideas and to examine their latest findings. Several senior researchers have their laboratories at the facility itself; others share the multi-user suites designed for research; still others remain in their home departments. The Center is a focal point bringing them all together.

More than 62 affiliated research scientists representing 15 university departments are supported by the Center through a combination of shared resources and equipment, seminars, a traveling scholar program, and sponsorship of continuing medical education courses and conferences. In addition, the Center is a clearinghouse for information on all aspects of hearing and communication issues and research. All of these efforts help to bridge the gaps between basic science and clinical research, and between researchers and the public in order to stimulate ideas and generate new discoveries to help people with hearing impairments throughout the world.

The Center is now recognized worldwide for innovative approaches to hearing research, uniting a gifted group of 62 clinical and basic scientists from the School of Medicine, the College of Engineering, and the College of Arts and Sciences. The Center comprises one of the largest hearing research groups in the country.

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