Karen Gordon

Research Synopsis

Dr. Gordon's research focuses on auditory development in children who are deaf and use cochlear implants. Her early work examined the role of a unilateral implant to promote changes in the auditory brainstem, thalamus and cortex. She is presently examining ways to improve auditory development and hearing for children who are deaf through the use of bilateral cochlear implants. Further improvements may be realized by her collaborative studies on the genetics of deafness in childhood, the use of vision and somatosensory information to help hearing and new cochlear implant technologies. Dr. Gordon has been awarded grant funding for her work from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Ontario Government, the Ontario Physicians' Services Incorporated Foundation and the SickKids Foundation.