Tuesday, July 1, 2025 7/1/2025

The gEAR portal - Advancing Data Sharing, Analysis and Discovery for Hearing and Balance Research

Award Number: U01DC019370
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 04/09/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 03/31/2026

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The gEAR portal - Advancing Data Sharing, Analysis and Discovery for Hearing and Balance Research - ABSTRACT Discovery in biological sciences has shifted to increasingly rely on high throughput multi-omic data. The advent of single cell (sc) transcriptomics further revolutionized research in our field, given the intricate structure of the inner ear organs consisting of numerous distinct cell types that function in concert to properly sense hearing and balance. Harnessing the wealth of existing and future multi-omic, multi-modality and multi-species data is challenged by their ever-increasing data size and relative inaccessibility to biologists that are not trained in bioinformatics. The gEAR, gene Expression Analysis Resources (umgear.org), is a cloud-based `one-stop- shop' where inner ear-related multi-omic data can be explored and analyzed by biologists without requiring programming skills. Over the past five years, the gEAR has become a critically valuable resource to our field. The impact of the gEAR on the field is reflected by its 846 registered users, 440 datasets (over 70 organized in thematic profiles in the public domain), and thousands of monthly visits. The goal of this proposal is to implement necessary improvements in the gEAR that will significantly enhance the ability of researchers to infer biological insights from the omics data generated by their own laboratories and from omics datasets in the public domain. We will: (1) continuously upload and curate ear- related multi-omic data from contributing laboratories and the public domain; (2) construct an integrated epigenetic and transcriptomic atlas of the developing and mature mouse cochlea (a) as a necessary scaffold for cross dataset integration, and (b) as necessary data for bridging the gap between gene expression and gene regulation; (3) implement advanced bioinformatic analytical tools in the gEAR; (4) enhance the user- interface; (5) make scalability, performance and stability improvements; (6) integrate the gEAR with analytical notebooks to allow more complex analyses with minimal training; and (7) continue our education and outreach efforts. In addition to user-surveys, we will establish both user and technology expertise advisory boards to provide feedback and guide development. Diverse expertise is required for the efficient operation and development of the gEAR bioinformatics platform. Our multi-disciplinary team members are a surgeon-scientist (PI), bioinformaticians (Co-Is), biologists and engineers. Our experience in turning the gEAR from an abstract idea to a successful platform, widely adapted in the ear field, and with multiple successful clones including NeMO Analytics (nemoanalytics.org) for the BRAIN initiative should attest to our experience, expertise, and ability to deliver. Completion of the proposed gEAR advancements will boost fulfillment of the great promises expected from omics data generation and analyses and foster reuse of existing data, thereby catalyzing both basic science discovery and advance development and translation of therapeutics for hearing and balance disorders.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $522,807 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE	220 ARCH ST OFC LEVEL2	BALTIMORE	MD	21201	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	5	3/22/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$522,807
														Subtotal = $522,807

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $586,898 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE	220 ARCH ST OFC LEVEL2	BALTIMORE	MD	21201	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	4	3/29/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$586,898
														Subtotal = $586,898

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $607,768 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND	220 ARCH ST RM 02148	BALTIMORE	MD	21201	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	3	3/29/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE	220 ARCH ST OFC LEVEL2	BALTIMORE	MD	21201	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	002	3	4/25/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE	220 ARCH ST OFC LEVEL2	BALTIMORE	MD	21201	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	003	3	4/27/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND	220 ARCH ST RM 02148	BALTIMORE	MD	21201	BALTIMORE CITY	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	3	3/22/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$607,768
														Subtotal = $607,768

Grand Total All Awards = $1,717,473

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The gEAR portal - Advancing Data Sharing, Analysis and Discovery for Hearing and Balance Research

Award Number: U01DC019370

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 04/09/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 03/31/2026

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