By Lauren McGrath

On July 12, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) hosted “The Present and Future of Inner Ear Hair Cell Regeneration” on Zoom, the latest installment of the popular Hearing Health Hour webinar series. Hearing Health Hour events bring HHF supporters the latest developments in hearing and balance research through the voices of our Emerging Research Grants (ERG) alum community. All sessions include an interactive Q&A with the speaker.

As a slight change from the typical format, this webinar was co-presented by 2009-2010 ERG scientist Ronna Hertzano, M.D., Ph.D. of the Hearing Restoration Project, and the consortium’s scientific director, Lisa Goodrich, Ph.D. While Goodrich was not previously funded by HHF, Hertzano was clear about how beneficial the ERG has been for her career. “[My ERG grant]...funded an idea that I had on how to actually be able to analyze gene expression and different cell types of the ear without using complex models. This led to additional funding that allowed me to establish everything I do today. And coming back to HRP as sort of a senior member was a delight.”

Goodrich and Hertzano Talk Strategy, Data, and Cross-Genomic Comparisons

Goodrich kicked off the presentation with an overview of how hearing works, why she is optimistic about hair cell regeneration, and why the HRP consortium, which uses comparative genomics from chick, zebrafish, and mouse models is uniquely positioned to materially advance science in this area. “Consortium members are collecting huge amounts of data from many species, where each lab is using what they know best to generate data they can share with everybody else in the consortium so we can compare pathways across the systems and understand the problem, figure out what is happening and use that information to devise a solution.”

Hertzano followed up with specific information about her HRP project, the gEAR (gene Expression Analysis Portal), which allows hearing and balance research within the HRP and beyond to analyze complex datasets. “Until now, we were never able to say supporting cell A in the chick is the closest neighbor or the equivalent of supporting cell D in human or supporting cell F in zebrafish. And now because we know these things we can start to build a map and build a blueprint that will allow us to come up with ideas of drugs that we can use to induce regeneration in these species that do not regenerate,” Hertzano explained.

You can watch the full captioned recording of “The Present and Future of Inner Ear Hair Cell Regeneration” here or below. 

The presentation yielded great curiosity from the audience during the Q&A segment. Many individuals inquired about regeneration for all forms of hearing loss, to which the speakers responded that the research has to be performed step-by-step, and that hearing loss is just not one disease. As for the development of any drug, explains Goodrich, scientists cannot risk creating new problems by trying to solve existing ones. In response to a different question, Hertzano advised a listener not to wait for hair cell regeneration to pursue cochlear implantation. “And [that’s] not because we do not think hair cell regeneration is going to happen,” she said. It’s because it’s so important to provide access to hearing now. Even if, on an optimistic timeline, hearing restoration is 10 years away, it’s critical that the listener secure access to better hearing outcomes through a cochlear implant now. 

HHF is grateful to everyone who could attend the event and who makes the vital work of the Hearing Restoration Project possible.

“We have a long way to go, but we have every reason to be optimistic,” contends Goodrich.

About the Hearing Health Hour Webinar

Hearing Health Hour webinars are broadcast quarterly on Zoom at no cost to participants. The next session, led by Jennifer Stone, Ph.D., who is both a past ERG scientist and a member of the HRP consortium, will take place this October. Registration details will soon be made available at hhf.org/webinar. 

New In Hearing and Balance Research