A second-year doctoral student of audiology at Western Washington University is spending her summer in Portland conducting NIH-funded research on how antiretroviral medications used to treat and prevent HIV can damage the inner ear, a condition known as ototoxicity that causes hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance problems.
Kacey Wilson earned a spot in the highly competitive T35 internship program at the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, a federally funded research center based in Portland, Oregon. The T35 program is administered through the National Institutes of Health and selects a small number of doctoral students each year for intensive summer research training alongside expert mentors.
What Wilson Is Researching
Wilson's focus is on ototoxicity caused by antiretroviral drugs, particularly medications in the class known as PrEP, which are used both to treat HIV infection and to prevent it in people at risk. Antiretrovirals have transformed HIV from a fatal disease into a manageable chronic condition, but growing evidence suggests they may come at a cost to the auditory system.
"People who have or are at risk of contracting HIV have to take antiretrovirals, and that's what allows them to live. But there's growing evidence that those types of medications can cause damage to our hearing system," Wilson said.
During her time in Portland, Wilson is concentrating on two specific manifestations of ototoxicity: tinnitus, which is a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, and balance-related disorders, which arise when the inner ear's vestibular system is affected. Both conditions can significantly reduce quality of life, and both are underdiagnosed in HIV patients because hearing and balance testing are not standard parts of HIV care protocols.
A central goal of Wilson's internship is to produce an academic paper that can be submitted for publication by the end of the summer. That output requirement reflects the T35 program's emphasis on translating research training into real scholarly contributions, not just supervised observation.
A Winding Path to Audiology at Western
Wilson grew up in Allen, Texas, and started her career in a very different direction. She earned her bachelor's degree in wildlife ecology from Texas A&M University, where she also volunteered with an organization that supported families of children with disabilities. After graduating, she spent time in Colorado working in animal care rescue before a career pivot brought her to the University of Colorado's disability office, where she managed accommodations for Deaf and hard of hearing students.
That job sparked a deeper interest in hearing loss and the people who experience it, leading her to pursue a Clinical Doctorate of Audiology at Western Washington University. She is now in her second year of the program, based in Bellingham, and is already receiving strong assessments from her clinical supervisors on campus.
Associate Professor of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Anna Diedesch, who teaches research methods at Western Washington University and serves as Wilson's capstone mentor, said Wilson has stood out throughout her time in the department. "Having taught Kacey in research methods, I can attest that she has a strong interest in auditory research and doesn't shy away from challenging research topics in our field," Diedesch said.
Diedesch credited herself with helping Wilson navigate the competitive application process for the T35 award and supporting her transition to Portland for the internship. "Her guidance has helped me build a strong application, make the difficult choice between research sites, and navigate the research side of audiology," Wilson said of her mentor.
What Comes Next for Wilson and for WWU
When Wilson returns to Bellingham this fall, she is expected to present her research findings to the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences department, sharing what she learned at the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research with faculty and fellow students. That kind of knowledge transfer is one way WWU's doctoral programs bring cutting-edge research back into the classroom.
In her third and fourth years, Wilson will complete a series of clinical internships and externships in the Seattle area, gaining hands-on patient care experience across a range of audiology settings. Her long-term goal is to work in pediatric audiology, specializing in children with complex diagnoses and multiple overlapping conditions.
WWU's Clinical Doctorate of Audiology program, based in Bellingham, prepares students for careers in hearing healthcare through a combination of classroom instruction, on-campus clinical rotations, and externships at hospitals and audiology practices across the Pacific Northwest. Western's College of Health and Human Services has expanded its clinical doctoral offerings in recent years as demand for hearing healthcare professionals grows regionally.
More information about the audiology program and other graduate offerings at Western is available at the WWU website. For more on Western Washington University research and academic achievements, see this earlier story on a record-breaking WWU student achievement.
