At the fall 2014 HRP meeting, several investigators shared unpublished data and all realized that they had seen the same phenomenon—in the mature mouse inner ear, after damage that wiped our hair cells, a number of cells could be detected that had molecular signatures of hair cells yet still maintained a morphology similar to supporting cells. These hybrid cells could be supporting cells that have partially differentiated towards hair cells, and the group will characterize them in more depth. The project is exciting as it shows that there is some supporting cell response to damage and because we will be able to determine more precisely where the molecular block to full hair cell regeneration occurs.