Professor David Ryugo grew up in a small college town in California that centered around agriculture. He enjoyed sports, woodworking, hiking and camping, and was drawn to mathematics and science because of his interest in problem solving. David prizes education, loves his work, and considers preservation of the environment mankind’s greatest challenge. Professor Ryugo uses neurophysiology and neuroanatomy in his studies of the auditory system. He spent 9 years on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and 23 years at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine before retiring as professor emeritus. In 2010, he moved to Sydney to join the Garvan Institute and the University of New South Wales. His research focuses on understanding brain mechanisms that underlie hearing in mammals with an emphasis on structure-function relationships in auditory circuits of the brain. He is especially interested in how deafness and hearing loss alter brain organization, and in exploring strategies for hearing restoration. Professor Ryugo is also a Principal Honorary Fellow at the Bionic Institute in Melbourne and an honorary member of the Ear Nose & Throat Department at St. Vincent’s Hospital. When not working in the lab or worrying about funding, David enjoys reading, rock climbing, traveling with his wife, Karen, and his new hobby of sailing.

• Studies of structure and function in the central auditory system using electrophysiology and light and electron microscopy • Analyses of brain changes following hearing loss • Experiments using sound therapy to reverse brain pathology following hearing loss