MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
Charlotte.Garcia@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
01223 769936
Charlotte is a Post-doctoral Research Associate in Dr. Bob Carlyon's lab working on psychophysical and electrophysiological markers of spatial selectivity and temporal auditory processing in cochlear implant users. Specifically, she is currently working on objective measures of cortical responses to sustained, fast-rate, amplitude-modulated electrical stimuli using both Electrocochleography (EEG) and cochlear implant reverse telemetry approaches via direct stimulation. The project is called 'ALternating Frequency Interleaved Electrical Stimulation,' or ALFIES, thusly named [completely coincidentally] identically to Bob's dog (Carlyon, et al 2021; Guérit et al 2023).
Charlotte also completed her Ph.D. at the CBU, was funded jointly by the W. D. Armstrong Trust for projects focused on the application of engineering in medicine and the Cambridge Trust, and was supervised by Bob Carlyon, Manohar Bance and Richard Turner. Her doctoral research was primarily focused on using objective measures for improving speech perception in poor-performing cochlear implant users and involved the development and validation of the Panoramic ECAP Method. Her research interests also include pitch and music perception in hearing impaired listeners using various auditory technology platforms. She holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and a B.A. in Music Theory & Cognition from Northwestern University (Chicago, USA), and prior to joining the CBU she worked as a Biomedical Engineer in the healthcare industry developing and implementing multivariate process control systems for radio-frequency welding processes.
Key findings of the Panoramic ECAP Method validation study (Garcia et al 2021):
Charlotte is a recipient of the Centre for Integrative Neurosciences Discovery (CIND)'s 2023 Early Career Researcher Award for her project entitled 'Personalising Cochlear Implant Healthcare: Translating the Panoramic ECAP Method from laboratory to clinic' and of an MRC Confidence in Concept Award for 2024 for an extension of this project. She is also the chair of the MRC Cognition & Brain Science Unit's Equality and Diversity Committee.
de Rij, S.R., Hammond-Kenny, A., Tam, Y.C., Eitutis, S.T., Garcia, C. , CARLYON, R. and Bance, M. (2022) Detection of Extracochlear Electrodes using Stimulation-Current-Induced Non-Stimulating Electrode Voltage Recordings with Different Electrode Designs, Otology and Neurotology, 15 Feb 2022, 43(5):e548-e557 [Open Access]
GARCIA, C. , GOEHRING, T., COSENTINO, S., Turner, R.E., DEEKS, J.M., Brochier, K., Rughooputh, T., Bance, M., CARLYON, R.P. (2021) The Panoramic ECAP Method: Estimating Patient‑Specifc Patterns of Current Spread and Neural Health in Cochlear Implant Users, The Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, 22(5):567-589 [Open Access]
CARLYON, R., Brochier, T., GUERIT, F., DEEKS, J.M. GARCIA, C. , Bance, M. (2020) Evaluating and comparing behavioural and electrophysiological estimates of neural health in cochlear implant users, Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, 22(1), 67-80 [Open Access]
