# Animal Core

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA · 2020 · $182,051

## Abstract

ABSTRACT/SUMMARY – Animal Core-001
Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) – presbycusis – is a significant Public Health issue and the number one
communication disorder and neurodegenerative condition of our aged population; and ranks as one of the top
three chronic medical conditions, along with arthritis and cardiovascular diseases. Although much has been
learned, the search is on for biomedical treatments that prevent, slow down or reverse the consequences of
ARHL. In fact, there are no FDA-approved drugs to treat sensorineural hearing loss, despite a prevalence of
over 40 million people in the US alone. Furthermore, approximately 30% of those listeners complain of
tinnitus, i.e., sound perception in the absence of acoustic stimulation. The scope of the Animal Core will
support the other projects to delineate the functional effects on neural correlates of complex sound processing
using different modulators of presbycusis. More specifically, Core-001 (Animal Core) of this Program Project is
responsible for obtaining, maintaining, and aging mice and rats; and in a timely manner provides experimental
subjects for Projects 2-4 and Core-002. As such, the Animal Core is organized to achieve the following
objectives: Purchase and maintain breeding colonies of mice and rats; To raise healthy animals in an optimal
environment for research on the aging auditory system; To perform special procedures such as identification
tagging and tattooing, diagnostic audiometry, obtaining tissue samples and gathering baseline information from
animals; Perform diagnostic auditory brainstem response (ABR) audiometry to establish the hearing thresholds
of subjects before (both acute and longitudinal) and during (longitudinal) experiments; and to maintain a secure
database of vital information about colony animals, including birth dates, lineage, ABR audiometry test dates
and results, and an experimental procedure log.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9868865
- **Project number:** 5P01AG009524-25
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** JOSEPH P WALTON
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $182,051
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9868865

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9868865, Animal Core (5P01AG009524-25). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9868865. Licensed CC0.

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