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Professor Nish Mehta to join UCL Ear Institute as Chair of Otology and Auditory Implants

7 April 2025

Professor Nish Mehta has been appointed as the Chair of Otology and Auditory Implants at the UCL Ear Institute and Honorary Consultant ENT Surgeon at UCLH, starting 2 July 2025.

Nish Mehta

Professor Nish Mehta has been appointed as the Chair of Otology and Auditory Implants at the UCL Ear Institute and Honorary Consultant ENT Surgeon for Advanced Otology and Auditory Implantation at University College London Hospitals (UCLH). He will commence his appointment on 2 July 2025.

Professor Mehta is a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon with expertise in hearing, ear and balance conditions in both paediatric and adult patients. He has extensive training in cochlear implant and complex ear surgery. His NHS practice is based at the Royal National ENT Hospital, which is part of the UCLH Trust – the only ENT specialised hospital in Europe.

Aside from his clinical practice, Professor Mehta undertook a Wellcome Trust doctoral fellowship to attain a PhD in data sciences at UCL. He was subsequently appointed as deputy Director of NIHR UCLH Biomedical Centre’s Hearing Health theme in 2020 and Co-Director in 2023.

Following confirmation of his appointment, Professor Mehta said: “UCL has an amazing depth of expertise in subspecialist fields such as robotics, computer sciences and advanced therapeutics. My new role will give me an opportunity to work across the faculty and the university to bring these new technologies and techniques to hearing health.

“This joint appointment will allow me to create a robust and sustainable structure for collaboration between these institutes, so joint ventures are not an exception but the rule. This will allow for advances from the Ear Institute to be brought to UCLH patients at pace, and UCLH clinicians to engage and utilise cutting edge research regularly to the benefit of their patients.

“I think we are on the precipice of regenerative therapies for hearing loss. Early gene therapy studies have shown considerable promise, although only developed thus far for rare forms of hearing loss. The next 10 years will see further advances in cellular, mRNA, gene and small molecule therapies.

“All in all, it is an exciting and busy time to be a hearing health researcher and clinician. I can’t imagine a better group of people to be on this journey with.”

Professor Jennifer Linden, Director of the UCL Ear Institute said: "Nish Mehta's appointment as Chair of Otology and Auditory Implants at the UCL Ear Institute is a fantastic development for the future of translational auditory research. His appointment will also strengthen our links with the Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals and the NIHR-UCLH BRC Hearing Health Theme.

“Nish has already established multiple productive collaborations with Ear Institute scientists and we look forward to the further growth of these collaborations as he takes up his new position at UCL. More importantly, we look forward to the many benefits his clinical research will continue to bring to patients in the UK and worldwide."

Professor Anne Schilder, BRC Lead at the UCL Ear Institute, said: “Nish’s appointment is key to the continued success of our NIHR-UCLH BRC Hearing Health Theme. His approach to unlocking routine NHS health data to understand the signatures of hearing loss and identify which treatment is best for which patient is truly innovative and at the heart of our BRC.”

Dr Navdeep Kumar, Divisional Clinical Director, Royal National ENT & Eastman Dental Hospitals, said: "As Divisional Clinical Director for RNENT & EDH, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Nish on his appointment to this key role. His work in both clinical practice and research in hearing health is outstanding, and his leadership in advancing therapies for hearing loss will significantly impact patients in the UK and globally. Under his guidance, the collaboration between UCL, UCLH, and the NIHR BRC Hearing Health Theme will continue to thrive. I look forward to seeing the innovations that will emerge in this exciting new phase of his career. His commitment to transforming hearing health is truly inspiring."

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