Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Vanderbilt University Medical Center received a $136,911 Project Grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) under the Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders program (CFDA 93.173), effective February 15, 2026, through January 31, 2031. The grant funds a clinical trial feasibility study designed to characterize the cognitive-linguistic and auditory processing profiles of adult cochlear implant (CI) recipients who demonstrate poor speech recognition outcomes, and to evaluate the feasibility of two distinct intervention approaches—an auditory-based intervention and a cognitive-based intervention—for this population.

The project deliverables will advance understanding of factors contributing to suboptimal CI outcomes and establish the foundation for a larger randomized controlled trial. Additionally, the grant supports the mentoring and development of the next generation of surgeon-scientists in otology/neurotology with a focus on patient-oriented research. Results from this feasibility study will generate evidence-based knowledge regarding both bottom-up (sensory/auditory) and top-down (cognitive-linguistic) processing deficits that explain poor CI performance, ultimately informing the design and implementation of interventions to optimize outcomes for underperforming adult CI users. The research will be conducted at the awardee's facility in Forest Hills, Tennessee.