Hearing pioneer James Hudspeth dies aged 79

Recently, he had been researching means of restoring hearing through hair cell regeneration at the Rockefeller University, where he led the institution’s Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience.

In a statement issued by the university, its president Richard P Lifton praised Hudspeth for his role as scientist and a communicator.

“While Jim’s brilliant research inspired scientists everywhere, we knew him personally as a passionate investigator, deeply committed to his work and equally enthusiastic to share the wonders of science with children.

“He was known for his quick wit and as a generous mentor to students and postdocs, a thoughtful advisor to colleagues across the campus and a fabulous communicator of complex scientific concepts to lay audiences. His deep intellect, integrity and insistence on rigour set a standard for excellence that extended across our campus.”

In his key work, Hudspeth revealed how sound waves of specific frequencies mechanically distort particular hair cell bundles in the cochlea, creating electrical signals that are decoded by the brain.

The university credited his work with reshaping sensory neuroscience and creating the environment for novel approaches to hearing loss.

During his long association with the Rockefeller University, Hudspeth was its F. M. Kirby professor as well as director of the F. M. Kirby Center for Sensory Neuroscience. In addition, he had been an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for 32 years.

After obtaining his PhD in neurobiology from Harvard, he completed postdoctoral research at the Karolinska Institute and Harvard Medical School, followed by faculty appointments at the California Institute of Technology, University of California San Francisco, and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

He also garnered numerous scientific honours including the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, the Society for Neuroscience’s Ralph W. Gerard, the University of Groningen’s Guyot Prize and Columbia University’s W. Alden Spencer Award.

Hudspeth was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

On its website, Rockefeller University added that Hudspeth’s laboratory recently published an outline of the first method for keeping a mammal cochlea alive outside of the body, stating this would create “unprecedented” means for studying the organ’s live biomechanics.

“We will remember and continue to be inspired by Jim’s integrity, his humility, and his unwavering commitment to discovery. We are fortunate to have had his presence and leadership at Rockefeller for so many years,” said the university president.

Pic: Kindel Media