Armin Seidl, Ph.D.
Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center, University of Washington
BIO:
Armin Seidl received his Diploma in Biology at LMU Munich University and Ph.D.in Neurobiology at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology near Munich. Since2004, he has worked as a Senior Fellow in the laboratory of Professor Ed Rubelat the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center at the University of Washington. He is a 2010 Deafness Research Foundation grant recipient.
IN HIS WORDS:
I want to contribute to a better understanding of how the mammalian brain localizes sound. Sound localization means not only where sound is coming from but also, and perhaps more importantly, sound segregation. This is crucial when you want to concentrate on a conversation in a noisy environment, or if you want to focus on one person when many people are talking.
To this end, the brain distinguishes sound sources based on the direction they are coming from. This mechanism often fails as we get older.I believe a thorough understanding of the mechanism is needed in order to treat presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss.
My current project examines the nerve fibers in the sound localization circuit of the gerbil. I'm looking at their length, thickness, and other characteristics that determine signal transduction speed. This circuit has enjoyed a revived interest in the past 10 years, as the theory behind its mechanism has been challenged. In terms of low-frequency sound localization,the brain and hearing of gerbils is very similar to that of humans.
I have been officially working on this project since July2010, and will continue for almost three more years. My results will lead to abetter understanding of how the brain determines the position of a specific sound source. I hope that my work can contribute a small part towards curing hearing-related diseases.
I was born in Munich, the capital of Bavaria in Germany. Iunder went all my education there, including my Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology. I still have many friends in Munich and I really love the city's savoir-vivre, the beer gardens in the summer, the parks and the mountains. I am certainly biased, but for me Munich is a city that has it all. I moved to Seattle in 2004. Things may change now that I have two little children, but until recently I managed to go back to Germany at least once a year.
I didn't have a clear understanding what going to university would entail, so rather than being interested in becoming something specific after school, I just wanted to continue to learn. I was (and am) fascinated by biology. It combines aspects of chemistry and physics with the unpredictability of biological organisms. I was almost going to be a teacher of biology and chemistry, but then I became interested in neuroscience during my diploma thesis, and my adviser, Benedikt Grothe, asked me if I wanted to stay on for a Ph.D. It was in his lab that I did my first experiments in neurobiology. I was lucky that the project continued throughout my graduate studies and resulted in interesting publications. I am particularly grateful to my current mentor, Ed Rubel, for teaching me all aspects of academic science.
My primary passion is my family, and I spend most of my spare time with my wife, who is a neurologist, and our kids. I like to be in the mountains, ski mountaineering in the winter and alpine climbing in the summer.
My favorite places for climbing are the Cordillera Real in Bolivia, the Dolomites in northern Italy, and of course the Cascades near Seattle, which are much wilder and more remote than the Alps. One time, in the North Cascades, my wife and I had to cross five different glaciers just to get to the mountain we wanted to climb.
Years after I got my Ph.D., I took part in a hearing study and found out that I have hearing loss myself. It is probably genetic as it is very symmetrical between both ears. My father's side of the family had (and denied) somewhat impaired hearing in later age. Though it didn't influence my research focus at the time, it might very well in the future. And I may be all the more dedicated for it.
Andrea Delbanco, Senior Editor
