Adjunct Professor
Profile
Dr. Soli has joined the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences as an Adjunct Professor after he and his wife moved to British Columbia’s beautiful Sunshine Coast. Prior to his move, he was a Distinguished Scientist Emeritus at the House Research Institute in Los Angeles, where he founded and directed the Department of Human Communication Sciences and Devices for over 20 years. He received his PhD in experimental psychology at the University of Minnesota in 1979. He then served as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland. After receiving his promotion and tenure, he accepted a Research Scientist position in the Biosciences Laboratory at 3M where he worked on the early development of cochlear implant and hearing aid technologies. During that time, 3M received the first US FDA approval for cochlear implantation of adults.
His work at the House Research Institute began in 1989, and has focused on the development and evaluation of diagnostics, assessment procedures, and devices for individuals for hearing impairment. He and his staff developed the Hearing In Noise Test (HINT) in 20 languages, which is now used throughout the world. He also has participated in the design and performance of laboratory studies and clinical trials to evaluate the benefits of hearing aids, cochlear implants, middle ear implants, and osseointegrated implants in adults and children. Most recently, these studies have been conducted in collaboration with clinical researchers in China. Dr. Soli has also collaborated with researchers in the US and Canada to develop objective methods for assessment of functional hearing ability that can be used in occupational medicine. These methods have been applied to the screening of applicants for jobs where hearing is critical. His research in both clinical and occupational medicine has produced over 65 scientific publications and over 30 US and international patents.
In addition to his affiliation with the University of British Columbia, Dr. Soli is also a Senior Clinical Research Scientist at the House Clinic in Los Angeles, and an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. Dr. Soli is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, and a previous Chair of its Speech Communication Technical Committee. He has served as an advisor to the US National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and to the US National Research Council. He has also served as a voting member of the US FDA’s Ear, Nose, and Throat Device Panel. In addition, he is a Senior International Advisor to the Chinese Academy of Audiological Rehabilitation.