The HRP consortium aims to identify factors that can either block or promote regeneration and has generated multiple genomics datasets from inner ears of regenerating and non-regenerating model organisms. This proposal aims to predict these causal factors by a detailed analysis of those datasets. The project’s two investigators—Hertzano, who is well versed in inner ear development and genomics, and Seth Ament, Ph.D., an expert in systems biology and neurobiology—will develop a quantitative model for the gene regulatory networks in hair cells and hair cell precursors that will allow them to predict key genes (e.g., master regulator transcription factors) that are associated with the ability to regenerate hair cells. They will use cutting-edge network biology approaches that integrate information about the preservation and divergence of gene co-expression across species and conditions, with information about the targets of hundreds of transcription factors.