Hearing
Our research strives to understand the mechanisms of peripheral and central hearing. In the inner ear, degeneration of the hearing receptors (hair cells) leads to many forms of deafness. We are exploring whether stem cell transplantation can provide a potential therapy for the treatment of hearing loss. Adult stem cells from sensory organs (taste, balance, smell) are being transplanted into mouse models of congenital deafness, age-related deafness, and noise-induced deafness.
Specialised techniques in stem cell biology, transplantation surgery, histology, and hearing testing (manuscript in review) are combined to determine if transplantation results in the functional recovery of hearing. We have recently demonstrated that transplantation of adult mouse taste stem cells into the inner ear of deaf mice showed a moderate but significant improvement on noise-induced hearing loss (manuscript in review). Further characterization of taste stem cells has revealed an accessible and abundant source of stem cells (manuscript in review). Collaboration with the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research and St Vincent‘s Hospital extends our animal research to human tissue.
In central hearing, deafness can modify the synaptic connections between nerve cells in the brain. Little is known regarding the inhibitory connections and how they might influence signal processing for sound localisation. We are currently investigating the inhibitory neural circuitry in the brainstem cochlear nucleus. We are in a unique position to take advantage of an established mouse model for congenital deafness to investigate synaptic remodelling in the auditory brainstem. An international collaboration is underway to determine the anatomy and physiology of this synaptic plasticity.
Staff
 Senior Research OfficerDr Jeremy Sullivan |
 MSurg StudentDr Sonali Pandit |
 Research AssistantAlex Borecki |
 International ScholarBettina Zens |
 International ScholarViktoria Egger |
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