In April 2011, the House Ear Institute changed its name to the House Research Institute because "Research" more accurately reflects the institute's expanded research mission.
The name change was the first step of the 65 Faces Campaign to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the institute. The fundraising goal of the campaign is $65 million.
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Marco Giovannini, MD, PhD, the director
for HRI's Center for Neural Tumor Research,
works in the lab. |
In the last several years, research has expanded beyond the institute's traditional study focus where hearing loss is the primary diagnosis. For example, medications to treat HIV/AIDS, cystic fibrosis, tuberculosis and cancer can be ototoxic, sometimes damaging the sensorineural hair cells in the inner ear to cause permanent hearing loss or even deafness to the patient.
The institute anticipates the new name, House Research Institute, will improve its communications to donors and foundations that our work is not disease- or organ-specific.
In fact, changing the name to the House Research Institute has given its 65 Faces Campaign momentum right from the start. The campaign promises to provide critical support for our enterprise -- support that will secure our mission through infrastructure and endowment, expand our potential with innovative technologies and empower our future with the capacity to recruit world-class scientific investigators.
The 65 Faces Campaign reflects the 65 years that House Research Institute has engaged in helping people enjoy a better quality of life through improved hearing. Whether correcting hearing problems, augmenting hearing when problems can't be fixed or educating people on how to avoid these problems, the institute has been at the forefront of discovery and innovation.
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Kids having fun at HRI's annual "Sharing is
Caring" family camp. |
"65 Faces" also represents the vast number of stories of patients, physicians, scientists and donors who have played a major role in our extraordinary effort to improve hearing during these years.
Several lead gifts are now building the foundation for our researchers to find the answers and treatments for single-sided deafness, tinnitus and neurofibromatosis type-2 (NF2), just to name a few.
David Koch has donated $5 million to fund the Koch Center for Hearing Restoration. James and Anne Rothenberg gave $3 million with half as unrestricted funds to support the 65 Faces Campaign and the other half to Howard P. House, MD Endowment in honor of John W. House, MD. Lynn Booth and the Booth Foundation have donated $1 million to the 65 Faces Campaign. The Chandler family and their foundation, The Scottsdale Foundation, have donated $1 million to establish the Chandler Chair for Tinnitus Research.
In addition to the Koch Center for Hearing Restoration, the institute has created The Center for Neural Tumor Research and The Center for Sensory Regeneration, which are available as naming opportunities for donors.
The past 65 years at the institute have produced major advancements in skull base surgical techniques and hearing prosthetics such as the cochlear implant and the auditory brainstem implant. The researchers and staff at the House Research Institute are working hard on the next scientific breakthroughs in the areas of genetics, regeneration, prescription drug-induced hearing loss, tinnitus, single-sided deafness and neural tumors.
With the right support, the possibilities of what can be accomplished in the next 65 years are endless.
Daniel M. Graham is executive vice president of development and marketing for the House Research Institute. For more information, contact the House Research Institute at 213-483-4431 or visit www.houseresearch.org.
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