UCL Ear Institute 20th Anniversary Celebration

The UCL Ear Institute as it is known today was officially formed in 2005, although our history in hearing research dates back to the founding of the Institute of Laryngology and Otology in the 1940s.  

We will be celebrating our 20th anniversary year with a keynote lecture from David Kemp, Emeritus Professor of Auditory Cell Biology and one of the founders of the Ear Institute, followed by a wine reception.  

Please join us to celebrate the remarkable history of the UCL Ear Institute and its achievements over the past 20 years. 

Learn more about the Ear Institute history.

About UCL Ear Institute 

The UCL Ear Institute currently constitutes the largest single grouping of basic and clinical scientists interested in auditory and vestibular function in the UK. Now firmly established in UCL's Faculty of Brain Sciences, the Ear Institute also benefits from strong links with other UCL institutes and departments to enhance research, education and clinical training programmes.  

A key defining feature of the UCL Ear Institute is its emphasis on interaction between the different research groups that occupy the Centre for Auditory Research building and clinicians from the nearby Royal National Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital (formerly the RNENTH, now part of the new Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals). 

Since its creation in 2005, it has witnessed remarkable growth. Over the past five years alone it has been awarded over £35 million in research funding. 

Its excellence in research was reflected in REF 2021, placing UCL at the top of Clinical Medicine and Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience for research power and intensity. In addition, bibliometric analysis by the RAND Corporation confirms it is producing the most influential research in the fields of ‘deafness and hearing problems’ and ‘audiology and speech language pathology’ in England. 

Over 800 students have graduated from the Institute’s undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, and 92 students have been awarded a PhD.  

The Ear Institute continues to offer Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Training, and runs courses for ENT medics, audiologists and associated health-care professionals.  More than 1000 professionals have been trained through its CPD courses. 

It holds a Silver Athena SWAN award, recognising our commitment to advancing women’s careers in STEM in higher education and research. 

About Professor David Kemp

Professor David Kemp is renowned for his discovery of otoacoustic emissions, which are sounds emitted by the healthy ear. When the inner ear is damaged, the production of these sounds ceases. Professor Kemp also invented practical techniques for measuring otoacoustic emissions and thereby enabled the development of the firt NHS hearing screening programme for newborn babies.

Prior to Professor Kemp’s discovery and invention, infant hearing was assessed by making noises behind a baby’s head to see if the baby turned its head. However, this test was not very reliable, and moreover it could only be carried out when the baby was able to support its own head — typically at around eight months of age. Therefore, diagnosis of deafness in children often occured too late to prevent detrimental effects on their language and development.

Professor Kemp's invention of a device to measure otoacoustic emissions enabled hearing tests to be performed even in people who could not respond to what they heard --- such as newborn babies. His work is the reason that in the UK and many other countries, deaf children are now diagnosed at birth. He received the Queen’s Award for Technical Achievement in 1993 and 1998 for his discovery, and founded a company called Otodynamics to make equipment for diagnosing hearing defects.

Professor Kemp was integral to the creation of the UCL Ear Institute, as we know it today. He is currently Emeritus Professor at the UCL Ear Institute, and Fellow of the Royal Society.