Neuromod Devices Limited (“Neuromod”), an Ireland-based medical technology company specializing in non-invasive neuromodulation technologies, announced the appointment of Dr Hubert Lim, a scientist and thought leader in auditory neuroscience, neuroplasticity, and neurostimulation, as Chief Scientific Officer.

Lim is a published leader in the neural engineering field, and has been at the forefront of the development and translation of brain-machine interfaces from scientific concept into clinical application, according to the announcement. Lim’s work has a strong focus on the improvement of invasive and non-invasive neurostimulation approaches for treating unmet medical needs in hearing and other therapeutic areas. Lim is associate professor and Institute for Translational Neuroscience scholar at the University of Minnesota, and will continue to oversee a number of activities at his Sensory Optimization and Neural Implant Coding (SONIC) Lab from his new base in Ireland.

TENT-A Tinnitus Trial
Lim’s expertise complements Neuromod’s focus on developing and advancing non-invasive bimodal neuromodulation for tinnitus. Initially, Lim will focus on concluding Neuromod’s TENT-A tinnitus trial, currently taking place in Ireland and Germany. When complete, the TENT-A trial will have enrolled more than 500 patients. It is reportedly one of the largest randomized double-blind clinical trials conducted to-date in tinnitus. Lim will apply his insight into the evolving neuroscience of tinnitus to completing the trial and in communicating the results to the global scientific and clinical communities. Over time, Lim will play a key role as the company advances towards international markets, including regulatory applications to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Commenting on the appointment, Dr Ross O’Neill, CEO of Neuromod said: “Dr. Lim will continue to expand the therapeutic applications of Neuromod’s non-invasive neuromodulation platform to additional indications to meet the unmet needs of many patients. In addition, his strong ties to the global neuroscience and neuromodulation communities will be important to ensure that Neuromod’s clinical and scientific approach continues to robustly and conclusively build the evidence base to support widespread acceptance. We are excited that someone of Dr Lim’s scientific integrity and global scientific connections have agreed to join Neuromod. We welcome Dr Lim and his family as he settles in Ireland to take up this role.”

Lim commented: “I am excited to join the Neuromod team in Ireland, where I see a vibrant environment for innovation, medical technology, and business. Neuromod’s rigorous and transparent approach towards developing and evaluating their non-invasive neuromodulation device in large, systematic clinical trials in tinnitus has impressed me. Moreover, the company’s inclusive approach listening to experts including their highly respected scientific advisory board of Professors Berthold Langguth, Deborah Hall, and Sven Vanneste, to find better treatments for patients with chronic conditions is consistent with the scientific spirit for advancing knowledge and developing evidence-based treatments that I admire.”

Dr Hubert H. Lim Biography
Lim completed a BSE in Bioengineering at UC-San Diego, followed by a dual Masters in Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science as well as a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. In collaboration with Cochlear Limited, Lim completed postdoctoral research with Dr Thomas Lenarz at the Hannover Medical School in Germany, overseeing a clinical trial for a new deep brain stimulation implant to restore hearing.

Lim is an investigator on a number of clinical trials including evaluating a new deep brain stimulation array for hearing restoration and tinnitus treatment (funded by the National Institutes of Health [NIH] involving University of Minnesota, Hannover Medical School, and Cochlear Limited); an electrical ear and sound stimulation approach for tinnitus treatment (funded by the NIH REACH Program); and non-invasive ultrasound neuromodulation of the spleen and vagus/splenic nerve pathways to elicit anti-inflammatory control in rheumatoid arthritis patients (funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [DARPA] of the Department of Defense and based on animal research performed with Medtronic).

Lim is a recipient of the prestigious Peter and Patricia Gruber International Research Award from the Society for Neuroscience, serves as a grant reviewer for the NIH BRAIN Initiative, is a member of the Program Committee for the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, has been a co-organizer of the annual Minnesota Neuromodulation Symposium since 2013, and is co-organizing the upcoming international meeting, Neural Interfaces Conference 2018.

Source: Neuromod Devices Ltd.

Image: Neuromod Devices Ltd.