MED-EL Founders Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair Receive 2026 Richard N. Merkin Prize in Biomedical Technology

September 15, 2026 – Innsbruck, Austria: Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, founders of MED-EL and internationally recognized pioneers in hearing implant technology, have been awarded the 2026 Richard N. Merkin Prize in Biomedical Technology. The prestigious award recognizes their role in the development of the modern cochlear implant, one of the most transformative medical technologies of the last century.

• Prestigious award recognizes pioneering innovations that transformed hearing healthcare
• Founders' groundbreaking work laid the foundation for modern cochlear implant technology
• Recognition celebrates a lifetime commitment to helping people around the world connect through hearing

Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair are honored alongside Graeme Clark, Michael Merzenich, and Blake Wilson for their contributions to the development of the modern cochlear implant. The $400,000 Richard N. Merkin Prize in Biomedical Technology, administered by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, recognizes pathbreaking technologies that are demonstrably improving human health and the individuals whose contributions made them possible. With a focus on real-world impact, the prize celebrates innovations that are transforming healthcare while inspiring continued advances across scientific and medical disciplines.

A Technology That Changed Lives Globally

"The success of the cochlear implant depended on multiple scientific and engineering breakthroughs achieved across disciplines and countries over many decades," says Harold Varmus, Nobel Laureate and Chair of the Merkin Prize Selection Committee. "The Merkin Prize recognizes individuals whose contributions were essential to one of the most impactful medical technologies of our time."

Beginning in the 1970s at the Technical University of Vienna, Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair pursued the ambitious goal of restoring hearing through direct electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. Their work resulted in the world's first microelectronic multi-channel cochlear implant, successfully implanted in 1977 and widely regarded as a key milestone in the evolution of modern hearing implants. Their pioneering research later led to the founding of MED-EL, which continues to build on that legacy through innovations designed to help people of all ages overcome hearing loss and connect with the world around them.

Recognition for a Lifetime of Innovation

"We are deeply honored to receive this recognition," says Ingeborg Hochmair, co-founder and CEO of MED-EL. "The cochlear implant is the result of decades of collaboration between engineers, scientists, clinicians, and hearing implant recipients. This award celebrates what can be achieved when innovation is guided by the goal of improving people's lives."

Erwin Hochmair, co-founder of MED-EL, adds: "Developing the cochlear implant required perseverance, curiosity, and the willingness to challenge conventional thinking. We are grateful to see how this technology has evolved and how many people around the world have benefited from it."

Continuing to Shape the Future of Hearing

For MED-EL, the Richard N. Merkin Prize also acknowledges the global community that continues to advance hearing healthcare, including researchers, audiologists, surgeons, therapists, educators, and hearing implant recipients. "While this award recognizes achievements from the past, it also inspires us to continue looking ahead," says Ingeborg Hochmair. "Our mission remains unchanged: to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life through innovation, research, and a deep commitment to those we serve."

Nearly five decades after the first successful implantation of their pioneering microelectronic multi-channel cochlear implant, the Hochmairs' vision continues to shape the future of hearing healthcare. Their pioneering work helped establish the foundation for modern cochlear implant technology and continues to influence advances in neurotechnology and auditory rehabilitation today.

Further information about the Richard N. Merkin Prize is available at: https://merkinprize.org/

Captions:

Anthem-Merkin2026-22411 © Erik Jacobs, Anthem Multimedia.jpg: 2026 Merkin Prize Laureates – from left: Michael Merzenich, Blake Wilson, Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair. Not pictured: Graeme Clark.
Anthem-Merkin2026-22430 © Erik Jacobs, Anthem Multimedia.jpg: 2026 Merkin Prize Laureates: MED-EL Founders Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair 
Anthem-Merkin2026-22460 © Erik Jacobs, Anthem Multimedia.jpg: 2026 Merkin Prize Laureate: Ingeborg Hochmair
Anthem-Merkin2026-22462 © Erik Jacobs, Anthem Multimedia.jpg: 2026 Merkin Prize Laureate: Erwin Hochmair
Anthem-Merkin2026-29413 © Erik Jacobs, Anthem Multimedia.jpg: 2026 Merkin Prize – from left: Harold Varmus (Merkin Prize Jury Chair), Michael Merzenich, Ingeborg Hochmair, Richard N. Merkin, Erwin Hochmair, Blake Wilson, Todd Golub (Director Broad Institute). Not pictured: Graeme Clark.
Anthem-Merkin2026-29421 © Erik Jacobs, Anthem Multimedia.jpg: 2026 Merkin Prize – from left: Ingeborg Hochmair, Richard N. Merkin and Erwin Hochmair

About the Merkin Family Foundation

The Merkin Family Foundation was founded by visionary health care executive Richard Merkin, M.D., who is the founder and CEO of Heritage Provider Network, Inc. (HPN). HPN is one of the largest physician-founded and physician-owned managed care organizations in the country dedicated to value-based healthcare delivery improvements. HPN develops and manages coordinated, patient-doctor centric, integrated health care systems that offer some of the strongest solutions for the future of health, care, and cost in the U.S. HPN and its affiliates operate in New York, California, and Arizona, providing high-quality, cost-effective healthcare with over one million patient members. HPN is dedicated to quality, affordable health care, and putting patients’ wellness first.

About the Broad Institute

Broad Institute is an independent, non-profit research organization whose mission is to understand the roots of disease and close the gap between new biological insights and impact for patients.
Founded in 2004 by the visionary Los Angeles philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, the Broad Institute exists at the intersection of scientific disciplines, convening scientists and other experts from genomics, cell biology, chemistry, engineering, neuroscience, therapeutics, artificial intelligence/machine learning, computational biology, and public health. The Broad Institute engages thousands of scientists from MIT, Harvard, Harvard’s primary teaching hospitals, other academic institutions, and leading corporate partners in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, all of whom share the goal of translating research findings into safe and effective therapeutic interventions for all common and rare diseases.

About MED-EL

MED-EL Medical Electronics, a leader in implantable hearing solutions, is driven by a mission to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life. The Austrian-based, privately owned business was co-founded by industry pioneers Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, whose ground-breaking research led to the development of the world’s first micro-electronic multi-channel cochlear implant (CI), which was successfully implanted in 1977 and was the basis for what is known as the modern CI today. This laid the foundation for the successful growth of the company in 1990, when they hired their first employees. To date, MED-EL has more than 3,300 employees from around 90 nations and 30 locations worldwide.
The company offers the widest range of implantable and non-implantable solutions to treat all types of hearing loss, enabling people in 142 countries enjoy the gift of hearing with the help of a MED-EL device. MED-EL’s hearing solutions include cochlear and middle ear implant systems, a combined electric acoustic stimulation hearing implant system, auditory brainstem implants as well as surgical and non-surgical bone conduction devices. www.medel.com 

CEO

Doz. DI Dr DDr med. h.c. Ingeborg Hochmair

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