A/Professor Gérard Loquet completed a PhD in Biology and Medical Sciences, a Docent in neurophysiology and a postgraduate degree in Toxicology. After few years of research in the field of cochlear implants, A/Prof Loquet worked with the Swiss hearing aid company Sonova in the business brand Phonak Acoustic Implants to test safety and effectiveness of a new middle ear implant. Back to academia in 2012, he focussed on multisensory integration and taught neurophysiology to cohorts of students in medicine, biomedical sciences and psychology at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. During this period, A/Prof Loquet has been implicated in several research projects related to translational neuroscience, electrophysiology and neuroimaging in both humans and experimental models. In 2017, A/Prof Loquet took up a position in Denmark to conduct clinical studies as part of the Better hEAring Rehabilitation project (BEAR). Within this project, he led the validation of a new diagnostic test battery and a new strategy to fit hearing aids based on individual hearing profiles. In 2021, A/Prof Loquet transitioned to Melbourne with the assistance of a private fellowship and took up the role of translational hearing researcher at the Bionics Institute. He holds a honorary principal fellowship at the University of Melbourne within the Medical Bionics Department at the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.

A/Prof Loquet’s is actively involved in translating innovations in hearing instruments or clinical management into commercial or clinical use to make a substantial difference to the lives of people with hearing loss. Several research areas of interest include age-related hearing loss and dementia, spatial selective attention, and sensory remediation in elders. The main clinical goal is to delay cognitive decline by providing sensory cues, given that the brain is a multisensory dynamic system. Objective neuroimaging tools like, for example electroencephalography (EEG) combined to functional infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) are largely used in our studies and help mapping brain networks to better understand individual variability regarding dysfunctions. To improve coherence with our higher-order brain approach, we favour immersive audio-visual experience (objects & remixing) and advanced tools (machine learning) to design our experiments. We believe that ecologically valid stimuli will be helpful in our pursuit of individualized approach and optimal treatments.

A/Prof Loquet has authored over 30 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 1 book chapter and attended numerous international conferences. He has collaborated extensively worldwide with different research groups, industries, and hospitals, allowing him to establish a long-lasting collaborative network to support his translational research. A/Prof Loquet has supervised PhD, Master and Bachelor students and ensured lectures to psychology, biomedical and medical students in hearing, neurophysiology and multisensory processing.

 

ORCID: 0000-0002-7436-032X

Google scholar: Gérard Loquet

 

BI Projects

Role of multisensory integration in the association between hearing loss and dementia

Assessment of hearing disability in children with auditory neuropathy

Eargenie

 

Student Projects

Multisensory processes in patients with hearing loss and/or dementia

Notable Publications

1. Houmøller SS, Wolff A, Möller S, Narne VK, Narayanan SK, Godballe C, Hougaard DD, Loquet G, Gaihede M, Hammershøi D, Schmmidt JH. (2021). “Prediction of successful hearing aid treatment in first-time and experienced hearing aid users: using the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids”. Int J Audiol 25: 1-11
2. Narne VK, Möller S, Wolff A, Houmøller SS, Loquet G, Hammershøi D, Schmmidt JH. (2021) “Confidence limits of word identification scores derived using nonlinear quantile regression,” Trends Hear, 25: 1-9
3. Khani A, Lanz F, Loquet G, Schaller K, Michel C, Quairiaux C (2019) “Large-scale networks for auditory sensory gating in the awake mouse,” eNeuro, 6(5): 1-16
4. Lanz F, Moret V, Ambett R, Cappe C, Rouiller EM, Loquet G (2017). “Distant heterotopic callosal connections to premotor cortex in non-human primates” Neuroscience 344(6): 56-66
5. Lanz F, Moret V, Rouiller EM, Loquet G (2013). “Multisensory integration in non-human primates during a sensory-motor task” Front Hum Neurosci 7(799): 1-15