Renjie Chai, Ph.D.
Meet the Researcher
Renjie Chai, Ph.D. received his Ph.D. at Baylor University and is now working as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Otolaryngology at Stanford University.
The Research
Stanford University
Characterization of Wnt-responsive progenitor cells in the mammalian cochlea
Hearing loss is a common sensory disorder affecting nearly 50 million adults in the United States alone. The majority of hearing loss is caused by the loss of the inner ear sensory hair cells, which, in mammals, lack the ability to regenerate. In this proposal, we will gain insights into the regenerative potential of the mammalian cochlear hair cells, with long term goal to improve the current treatment of hearing loss via hair cell regeneration. The Wnt signaling pathway has been found to play a crucial role in maintaining the stem cell population in several organ systems. Recently our laboratory has found a transient expression of active wnt signals in the mouse cochlea, and found 2 inner ear progenitor cell populations marked by two Wnt downstream target genes. This project has been designed to systematically investigate the role of the Wnt pathway in maintaining these two Wnt responsive progenitor cell populations.
Research area: hair cell regeneration
Long-term goal of research: To use hair cell regeneration and cell-base therapy to treat patients with sensorineural hearing loss.