https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog daily 0.75 2025-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/ef3c3051-afae-4597-bf64-cbfb0337e22e/LOGO1+copy.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/spotlight-by-cu-innovations monthly 0.5 2025-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1d485268-bd1b-4026-af86-ff3c5b4df582/Screenshot+2025-10-16+at+12.44.28+%282%29.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - Spotlight by CU Innovations - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/breaking-news-fda-approves-groundbreaking-phase-ii-trial-for-age-related-hearing-loss monthly 0.5 2026-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/cbf71498-46b2-4149-b3c3-4f3f5b7d95df/MSO_single.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - Breaking News: FDA Approves Phase II Clinical Trial for Age-Related Hearing Loss - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/celebrating-innovation-dr-benzheng-lis-emerging-research-grant-extended-for-year-two monthly 0.5 2025-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/4af30add-2e96-4521-8274-f22e6af4e32b/slide.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - Celebrating Innovation: Dr. Benzheng Li's Emerging Research Grant Extended for Year Two - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/breaking-new-ground-nih-awards-multi-pi-r01-to-study-mechanisms-of-central-hearing-loss monthly 0.5 2025-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/b69be5a4-1153-4719-9ab1-8493087868a2/MSO_all.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - NIH Awards Multi-PI R01 to Study Mechanisms of Central Hearing Loss - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/natures-gps-how-animals-use-spatial-biases-to-navigate-their-world-56e2e-85kc2 monthly 0.5 2025-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/ae83bf4f-7da1-4e4d-b68b-41edf70a2dfd/Firefly_create+a+funny+cartoon+about+animals+fine+tuning+their+vision+and+their+hearing.+craz+772556.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - Fine-Tuning the Spatial World: How Animals Perfect Their Vision and Hearing - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/natures-gps-how-animals-use-spatial-biases-to-navigate-their-world-56e2e monthly 0.5 2025-07-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/64ca2918-eba5-457e-b450-1fb37519a13a/A+humorous+cartoon+depicting+an+evolutionary+arms+race+in+the+animal+kingdom.+Scene+A+forest+cleari.jpeg Hearing Research Blog & News - Ancient Arms Races: How Spatial Vision and Hearing Evolved Through Different Paths - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/natures-gps-how-animals-use-spatial-biases-to-navigate-their-world monthly 0.5 2025-07-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/b5b29688-3e67-4037-afe3-487fd232d141/A+humorous+rectangular+cartoon+titled+%27Nature%27s+GPS+Built-In+Navigation+Systems+of+the+Wild%21%27+with+.jpeg Hearing Research Blog & News - Nature's GPS: How Animals Use Spatial Biases to Navigate Their World - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/welcoming-dr-sam-budoff-bridging-spatial-vision-and-spatial-hearing monthly 0.5 2025-07-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/facf73a2-fc7a-4941-b602-87eb01abb39d/IMG_8976.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - Welcoming Dr. Sam Budoff: Bridging Spatial Vision and Spatial Hearing - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/the-silent-decline-understanding-age-related-hearing-loss monthly 0.5 2025-05-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/e2b3b34d-eb9b-4a3b-b108-19fce627e275/MSO%2BRgly.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - The Silent Decline: Understanding Age-Related Hearing Loss - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/how-your-ears-turn-sound-into-brain-signals-natures-own-sound-analyzer monthly 0.5 2025-05-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/6307caa3-9523-4f96-b0dc-cae7d72c491b/AdobeStock_496824300.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - How Your Ears Turn Sound into Brain Signals: Nature's Own Sound Analyzer - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/how-sound-localization-helps-us-navigate-modern-life monthly 0.5 2025-05-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/d754ead8-9fa3-47aa-91cc-9489131987fa/Firefly+create+a+pencil+drawing+of+a+lively+restaurant+situation+with+many+tables+full+of+people+who.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - How Sound Localization Helps Us Navigate Modern Life - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/how-your-brain-figures-out-where-sounds-come-from monthly 0.5 2025-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/f22824d4-85d3-404d-abcb-ba81e56ebe35/Firefly+a+person+is+localizing+a+sound+source+which+is+a+bird+in+a+tree+527223.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - How Your Brain Figures Out Where Sounds Come From - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/klug-lab-awarded-spark-grant-for-groundbreaking-hearing-restoration-research monthly 0.5 2025-05-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/85a91925-7da3-451e-b180-d4d4eea2470a/Image.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - Klug Lab Awarded SPARK Grant for Groundbreaking Hearing Restoration Research - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/the-silent-threat-why-treating-hearing-loss-matters-for-healthy-aging-1 monthly 0.5 2025-05-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/7ec5b2d8-2cc2-4b9e-b5d2-fc2f352d12e7/Firefly+create+a+fun+animation+of+an+older+person+having+fun+chatting+with+friends+and+being+sociall.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - The Silent Threat: Why Treating Hearing Loss Matters for Healthy Aging https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/age-related-hearing-loss-what-happens-in-the-ear-as-we-age monthly 0.5 2025-05-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/62de13e5-30e5-46db-88ea-5f0e96fab52f/Firefly+create+an+fun+animation+of+sound+arriving+at+the+ear+and+the+sound+information+entering+the+.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - Age-Related Hearing Loss: What Happens in the Ear as We Age - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/new-publication-alert-klug-lab-unveils-novel-sapphire-optrode-in-international-collaboration monthly 0.5 2025-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/e8482c7b-01d1-4b7e-b3f1-fdb785164843/IMG_8288.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - New Publication Alert: Klug Lab Unveils Novel Sapphire Optrode in International Collaboration https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/dr-benzheng-li-awarded-prestigious-hearing-health-foundation-emerging-research-grant monthly 0.5 2025-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1744731267741-U5GB5ICTOR5ZWZC8Z9XG/Li%E2%80%93Ben_headshot_Sep2024.jpg Hearing Research Blog & News - Dr. Benzheng Li Awarded Prestigious Hearing Health Foundation Emerging Research Grant - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/category/Blog%3A+The+Science+of+Hearing+Loss monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/category/Klug+Lab+Other+News monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/category/Mini+Series monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/category/All+Clinical+Trial+News monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/tag/news monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/tag/hearing+%26+vision monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/tag/clinical+trial monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/tag/presbycusis monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/tag/spatial+navigation monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/tag/neuroscience monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/tag/publication+alert monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/tag/hearing+loss monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/hearing-loss-blog/tag/healthy+aging monthly 0.5 https://www.kluglab.org/home daily 1.0 2026-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1567225684403-4Z7PBUEZIT3486J0INB2/Klug-image1.jpg Home https://www.kluglab.org/contact daily 0.75 2025-04-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1567195572255-ZPNLF6W3PV8P6DWW93Y8/contact_image.jpg Contact https://www.kluglab.org/publications daily 0.75 2025-04-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1567199045747-8IUCUDALSUPN052QY04W/slide+1+2-10+60xW+MNTB_.jpg Publications https://www.kluglab.org/labmembers daily 0.75 2025-04-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1567622072115-J9VFNXULYKRBU9C69966/Klug%252BLab%252BPhoto.jpg Lab Members https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1567203305133-05ZJAYVR5PDHQB4F5HVC/0101-From-the-Hip-Photo.jpg Lab Members Dr. Achim Klug Principal Investigator Achim Klug has more than 25 years of experience in the auditory brain stem and sound localization circuit. He has used a number of electrophysiological techniques such as in-vivo recordings, patch clamp recordings, manipulations of neural circuits with pharmacology and optogenetics and combines these with behavior and histological analysis. Download Achim Klug’s CV Google Scholar Linkedin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/0a6c000a-99ae-4a41-838c-91bcecdef782/Media.jpg Lab Members Dr. Samuel Budoff Sam Budoff is a computational neuroscientist specializing in interdisciplinary approaches spanning statistics, machine learning, and experimental biology. He completed his P.h.D in the Poleg-Polsky Lab at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus where he mapped all retinal ganglion cell subtypes' spatial distributions - a challenge that had remained only 25% solved over 30 years. Earlier in his career: he was the 13th employee of Modern Meadow, where he built the biochemical analytics department from scratch; co-founded BaconBio, where he led the team to secure a cell-culture focused patent and develop an MVP; and has earned master's degrees in both Neuroengineering and Applied Statistics. He is now the CEO of Parley Neurotech where he aims to develop breakthrough treatments focused on solving central hearing loss. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/2a6dda29-cb2b-41e5-b0b0-8bd451849b3e/Li%E2%80%93Ben_headshot_Sep2024.jpg Lab Members Dr. Ben-Zheng Li Ben-Zheng Li received his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Macau. After being a visiting research scholar at the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, he is now a postdoctoral fellow at the latter institute under Dr. Achim Klug, Ph.D. He is interested in neural circuit modeling, signal/data analysis, and closed-loop optogenetic control in the auditory system. Google Scholar Github Page https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/90079298-30da-4a9f-8e1b-b361fbc0f730/shared+image.jpg Lab Members Shani Poleg Shani Poleg is a Professional Research Assistant who is an expert at immunohistochemistry, in-vivo and in-vitro electrophysiology, microscopy, and behavioral testing. She works both alterations in the sound localization pathway in aging and in Fragile X. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/91aa8343-e9f2-4146-b42d-40472dc82a75/Image.jpg Lab Members Matt Ridenour Matt Ridenour received his M.S. in Integrative Biology at Oklahoma State University in 2020, and began work in the Klug Lab soon after. His work in the lab centers around the optogenetic manipulation of the auditory brainstem. He is currently working on projects elucidating the roles of various auditory brainstem nuclei in the sound localization process. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/46c18c9c-4fb7-4a2c-9d30-d678df34d3ed/IMG_2323.jpg Lab Members Ajay Keerthy Ajay Keerthy is a Professional Research Assistant who is an expert at behavioral testing. He completed his undergraduate thesis on sound source tracking in the auditory cortex at the University of Michigan and is now interested in the sub-cortical sound localization pathway. His experience in sound design and behavioral testing merge together in the Klug Lab. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/7d422c33-4982-449d-9c93-1d658554c4b6/Bella+Headshot.jpg Lab Members Bella Nussbaumer - Intern Bela Nussbaumer is currently a student at Northfield Highschool who is pursuing the International Baccalaureate diploma. She is interested in following a career path in science and medicine. She has had the chance to shadow many lab members and the workings of the lab. https://www.kluglab.org/techtransfer daily 0.75 2025-04-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1567224281566-OWZPENPFQ7X4VHKKNXTF/slide%2B2%2B2-11%2B60xW%2BMNTB%2B_.jpg Tech Transfer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1567220889211-L02CS6KRT2I1GZR4YCFJ/neurons.jpg Tech Transfer A brain cell expressing optogenetic proteins. These are used to control neural activity with light, which is brought into deep brain areas through optical fibers. How do we know how much light is needed for a particular experimental situation? The Optogenetics APP helps answer this question quantitatively. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/4024118d-d3ad-4c37-8b15-5a6eec353cca/Klug_Image66.jpg Tech Transfer 2. Slice Chamber Experiments involving patch clamp recordings from brain slices are typically done in a recording chamber that holds the brain slice in the optical path of a microscope, superfuses it with artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF), and allows for the imaging of the tissue in which recordings are being performed. Most existing recording chambers continuously add fresh or reconditioned ACSF through one port of the chamber, while removing an equivalent amount of spent ACSF through a second port. Whenever expensive chemicals must be added to the bath solution such as pharmacological agents or caged compounds, experimenters reduce the total volume of ACSF required for the experiment as much as possible. We developed a novel slice recording chamber that reduces the amount of ACSF required for proper function down to 1.5 to 2.5 ml total. This reduction is accomplished by eliminating all tubing and holding containers, and instead oxygenating the ACSF directly in the recording chamber. Collaborators: Anna Dondzillo and Tim C. Lei More information can be found at: www.slicechamber.org Patent: A. Dondzillo, A. Klug, and T. Lei: System and Methods for Conducting In-Vitro Experiments. Awarded 10-4-2016. U.S. Patent Number 9,458,420. PDF here. The chamber is distributed by PopNeuron LLC, under license from the University of Colorado. www.popneuron.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1567484553683-KXB5CTI9MFH7474UXYNC/Picture1.png Tech Transfer 3. Closed Loop Optogenetic Control With the recent advancement of optogenetic control, control of neural circuits with light has become possible. One application of this method is closed-loop optogenetic control, i.e. light based intervention in response to certain activity patterns in the brain. Our device combines neural recordings with a circuit that can be used to deliver light pulses in response to certain brain states. Patent: T.C. Lei, A. Klug, S.H. Pun, C.H. Chen, M.I. Vai, P.U. Mak, and E.A. McCullagh: An integrated circuit for simultaneous electrophysiology recording and optogenetic neural control. Awarded 05-21-2021. U.S. Patent Number 11,000,225. PDF here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1567484802660-BUB2OPYRPZCEY9U4KG4W/Picture6.jpg Tech Transfer 4. Small Animal Stereotaxy Targeting a small and deep brain nucleus such as an auditory brain stem nucleus in-vivo is challenging. Some of these nuclei are 7-10 mm below the surface and are only 0.5 mm in diameter such that an electrode, injection pipette, or other tool that needs to be advanced into these nuclei needs to have an accuracy of better than 1 degree. We developed a novel stereotaxic device for use with small animals such as rodents, which aims to overcome many of the existing challenges associated with stereotaxic work in laboratory settings. Supported by a NIH small business grant (STTR R41 NS 119079, 2020-2022) awarded to PopNeuron LLC with a subcontract between the business and the university. More information can be found at: www.stereotax.com The technology is distributed by PopNeuron LLC, under license from the University of Colorado. www.popneuron.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/d6b5f05c-958a-4ff2-a48e-53e62c7f4a67/image.jpeg Tech Transfer 5. Spike sorting Recording patterns of electrical activity from neurons is one of the most important methods to study brain function. This is typically done with an electrode placed in the brain area of interest. This electrode can pick up neural spikes from several nearby neurons resulting in so-called “multi-unit” activity in the recording trace. Spike sorting algorithms are then used to separate this multi-unit activity into several sets of “single-unit” activities, each of which represents the action potential firing pattern of a single neuron. While many powerful spike sorting algorithms have existed for many years and have been used by many investigators, one critical gap is becoming more pronounced with the advent of multi- and high-channel-count hardware. Due to the relatively high computational demands of these algorithms, live spike sorting of multichannel data has been challenging, if not impossible. Most existing sorting algorithms are not designed to sort neural spikes in real-time as they are being recorded. Another problem is that sorting algorithms require high-performance computers equipped with significant amounts of computational power and system memory to run, also making them post-hoc and unsuitable for live applications. This challenge has greatly increased with the recent advent of multi-channel and high-channel recording systems. These systems are capable of recording neural spikes from up to several hundred or even thousand channels at the same time. Such datasets are typically examined post-hoc or alternatively, near-live sorting of a very small subset of the incoming data is performed. At the same time, it is critical for many applications to receive single neuron feedback during an experiment both for quality control of the incoming data and to allow the investigator to adapt the experiment based on the incoming data. If we had technology that could perform real-time spike sorting for these vast amounts of incoming data, we could attempt new types of experimental designs that are out of reach with today’s technology. Our group recently developed a novel, powerful, yet efficient and computationally inexpensive spike sorting algorithm, which -for the first time- allows for live spike sorting of even high and ultra-high channel data streams in their entirety. Termed “EGNG” for single channel sorting and “GEMsort” for multichannel sorting, this algorithm can sort massive amounts of neural spikes live and with negligible processing latency. For more information, refer to Mohammadi et. al. 2024. With the support of a NIH Small Business Award (STTR R41 NS 132700) we are bringing this sorting technology to research labs interested in using this algorithm. https://www.kluglab.org/patents daily 0.75 2026-02-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/1567565864505-GIHFRDLTVZ3BL2QM0E4S/MNTB_all2.jpg Patents https://www.kluglab.org/blog-toc daily 0.75 2025-08-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c93a670d74562c088050825/719d8e68-aa7d-4212-b23f-5192bacaef13/LOGO1.jpg Blog Table of Contents