STEMM opportunities for college students with Hearing loss to Engage in Auditory Research (STEMM-HEAR - Hearing loss affects people across the whole population and covers two broad spectra: first, the degree of loss, ranging from hard of hearing (correctable with hearing aids) to profound (which often can be mitigated with cochlear implants); and second, etiology which can be congenital, progressive, late-onset, age-related or acquired. Each of these factors can affect the extent of the challenges faced by people with hearing loss, but all hearing loss affects communication – and therefore socialization - to some degree. Significant technological advances over the past 20 years have greatly improved the capacity of people with hearing loss to listen and speak; improved hearing increases information received and, with training, children with hearing loss can learn to listen, speak and participate in all activities. In this R25 proposal, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) will implement a multi-institutional distributed mentoring model called STEMM-HEAR. The successful development of this model will be a template for other university programs and guide research leaders in providing impactful hearing sciences research experiences. The program encourages students and mentors with lived experience in hearing loss to develop improved capabilities needed to maximize their potential in STEMM. The model will accelerate the recruitment of students into careers in STEMM, including the hearing sciences. JHU will work with professional and educational organizations to disseminate program opportunities to work in hearing sciences laboratories at Oregon Health & Science University, University of Southern California, Creighton University, Rice University, Stanford University, and University of Minnesota. By participating in summer internship programs at these institutions, the students will acquire and share research experiences via a peer network mentoring program within a community of scientists and engineers in hearing sciences and research.
