June 2, 2008

The Ida Institute, an independent educational institute dedicated to fostering better understanding of the human dynamics associated with hearing loss, has appointed eight distinguished experts in hearing health and related disciplines to its newly formed advisory board.

The board reportedly will provide counsel and support for the institute’s strategic planning, including seminar topics, content and structure, faculty appointments and dissemination of information and tools developed by the Institute. The Ida Institute will convene its first seminar, Defining Hearing, in September. 

“The Ida Institute’s first year is an especially important one as we are now laying the framework for our future work,” says Lise Lotte Bundesen, institute director. “The advisory board members bring a depth and range of expertise that will be invaluable as we prepare our first seminar and plan for future initiatives.”

The institute’s initial programs are designed to assist hearing care professionals in helping hearing impaired people address the physical, psychological and social challenges of hearing loss. Through a process of professional collaboration involving hearing care professionals from around the world, the institute works to generate new angles of inquiry and enhance understanding of the ways hearing loss impacts individuals, their families, co-workers and others in their world.

“Because we aim to serve as a catalyst for multi-disciplinary collaboration, we are especially pleased that our advisory committee is comprised of leading hearing care professionals as well as thought leaders in communications, social anthropology and psychology,” Bundesen notes.

Institute Advisory Board members are appointed for a term of 2 years. The new members include:  

Lucille B. Beck, Ph.D.
Director of Audiology and Speech Pathology Service
Department of Veterans Affairs

Adrian Davis, OBE
Director, MRC Hearing and Communications Group
University of Manchester

Claus Elberling, Ph.D.
Senior Consultant
Oticon Foundation

David Fabry, Ph.D.
Chief of Audiology
University of Miami

Louise Hickson, Ph.D.
Professor of Audiology
Co-Director, Communication Disability Centre
The University of Queensland

Sophia E. Kramer Ph.D.
Psychologist/Senior Researcher, Department of ENT/ Audiology,
EMGO Institute
VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam

Robert Sweetow, Ph.D.
Professor of Otolaryngology
Director of Audiology
University of California, San Francisco

Tine Tjørnhøj-Thomsen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology
University of Copenhagen

The advisory board will meet twice a year, with the first meeting planned for August. For more information on the Ida Institute, see the article in the March 2008 edition of HR, Ida Institute Sets Sights on Easing Patient Journey to Better Healing.

Source: The Ida Institute