In their pre-clinical research, Dr. Dabdoub and Dr. Sahar Mahshid, research associate, have designed a biosensor test to detect otolin-1 and prestin, two unique proteins which can be found circulating in blood and are linked to balance and hearing disorders respectively. The test, which is patent pending, is comparable to a glucose monitor and requires only a drop of blood.
Moving Beyond Wnt and Notch Pathways for Hair Cell Regeneration
Both the Wnt and Notch pathways play a role in determining how inner ear cells develop into specific types of cells and multiply, and they are also important in the development of the cochlea as a whole.