Professor Gary D. Housley MSc., Ph.D.
Scientia Professor Chair of Physiology Director – Translational Neuroscience Facility Department of Physiology, University of NSW Medicine & Health, Sydney, Australia Scientia Professor Gary Housley holds the roles of Chair of Physiology, director of the Translational Neuroscience Facility and HoD in the School of Medical Sciences, UNSW Sydney. He was formally HoD Physiology at Auckland University (2003 – 2005), and a Royal Soc. NZ James Cook Fellow (2005-2006). Prof. Housley was elected to CORLAS - Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum in 2006 and is a recipient of both the New Zealand and Australian Physiological Society Medals.
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He serves on the Council of the Federation of Asian and Oceania Physiological Societies (FAOPS), chairs the scientific advisory board (SAB) of an Australian Biotech developing neuroprotectants, and is a member of the SAB of the Eisdell Moore Centre for hearing and balance (New Zealand). Prof. Housley has 177 primary publications and 9 patent filings. Gary Housley leads two NHMRC-funded clinical studies: ‘Cochlear implant neurotrophin gene therapy’ and ‘Noise-induced hearing adaptation’, with international academic and industry partnerships. His research has received broad commentary including Nature, Science, PNAS, New Scientist, lay media, and interviews by the UK-based ‘Naked Scientists’ related to discoveries around hearing adaptation to noise, neural control of hearing, and development of ‘Bionic array-Directed Gene Electrotransfer’ (BaDGE®) to regenerate the auditory nerve.
*BaDGE® – Bionic array – Directed Gene Electrotransfer in clinical trial to close the ‘neural gap’ for cochlear implant recipients.
*BaDGE® – Bionic array – Directed Gene Electrotransfer in clinical trial to close the ‘neural gap’ for cochlear implant recipients.
BaDGE® – Bionic array – Directed Gene Electrotransfer in clinical trial to close the ‘neural gap’ for cochlear implant recipients
In preclinical models, the UNSW BaDGE® focal DNA delivery technology achieves directed regrowth of the peripheral spiral ganglion neurites into close proximity to cochlear implant electrode arrays by precise delivery of naked plasmid DNA encoding neurotrophins to the mesenchymal cells lining scala tympani; improving hearing sensitivity and dynamic range of neural recruitment (reviewed in Pinyon et al., Hear. Res. 2019, 380:137). Through a broad inter-institutional collaboration, the cochlear-BaDGE® application has progressed to a phase I / IIa safety and efficacy study following development of a humanized bicistronic miniplasmid encoding brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (ANZCTR reg. ACTRN12618001556235). Just prior to insertion of the permanent cochlear implant array, this novel therapeutic DNA molecule is delivered to the targeted cochlear mesenchymal cells using a pulsed focused electric field, via a bionic gene delivery array developed in partnership with Cochlear Ltd. The clinical trial has scope to recruit up to fifteen cochlear implant patients to receive this first-in-human cochlear neurotrophin gene augmentation. With six subjects to date, the study has established an excellent safety profile and hearing outcomes aligned with preclinical findings. The study is hosted by UNSW, with Sydney Royal Prince Alfred Hospital HREC oversight. The trial is supported by collaborations through Macquarie University, NextSense, University of Sydney, Bionics Institute, and Cochlear Ltd, with grants from the NHMRC and the Garnett Passe & Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation (www.cingt.info).
In preclinical models, the UNSW BaDGE® focal DNA delivery technology achieves directed regrowth of the peripheral spiral ganglion neurites into close proximity to cochlear implant electrode arrays by precise delivery of naked plasmid DNA encoding neurotrophins to the mesenchymal cells lining scala tympani; improving hearing sensitivity and dynamic range of neural recruitment (reviewed in Pinyon et al., Hear. Res. 2019, 380:137). Through a broad inter-institutional collaboration, the cochlear-BaDGE® application has progressed to a phase I / IIa safety and efficacy study following development of a humanized bicistronic miniplasmid encoding brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (ANZCTR reg. ACTRN12618001556235). Just prior to insertion of the permanent cochlear implant array, this novel therapeutic DNA molecule is delivered to the targeted cochlear mesenchymal cells using a pulsed focused electric field, via a bionic gene delivery array developed in partnership with Cochlear Ltd. The clinical trial has scope to recruit up to fifteen cochlear implant patients to receive this first-in-human cochlear neurotrophin gene augmentation. With six subjects to date, the study has established an excellent safety profile and hearing outcomes aligned with preclinical findings. The study is hosted by UNSW, with Sydney Royal Prince Alfred Hospital HREC oversight. The trial is supported by collaborations through Macquarie University, NextSense, University of Sydney, Bionics Institute, and Cochlear Ltd, with grants from the NHMRC and the Garnett Passe & Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation (www.cingt.info).
