Kelly Harris

Dr. Kelly Harris is a Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Her primary affiliation is with the College of Medicine. Dr. Harris specializes in auditory neuroscience, with a focus on aging-related hearing deficits, cochlear implant technology, and neuroplasticity mechanisms.

Her research investigates how aging impacts auditory processing, particularly in older cochlear implant users. Key projects include studying brain structure-function relationships (e.g., locus coeruleus and dorsal cingulate morphology) and their role in speech recognition challenges. Dr. Harris also examines the effects of noise exposure and afferent loss on neural synchrony and central gain in auditory pathways.

Her work integrates electrophysiological techniques (e.g., auditory brainstem responses) with neuroimaging to identify biomarkers of hearing loss and neural compensation. She leads studies on cochlear implant efficacy in aging populations and explores GABAergic systems’ influence on auditory processing. Dr. Harris collaborates on multidisciplinary projects, including a clinical trial assessing speech understanding in older adults with hearing implants.

Dr. Harris maintains an active laboratory focused on translational research, bridging preclinical animal models (e.g., mouse auditory studies) with human clinical applications. Her contributions span basic science to clinical trials, emphasizing real-world outcomes in hearing restoration and audiological care.