Jun Shen, Ph.D.

Meet the Researcher

Jun Shen, Ph.D. is an Assistant Director of the Laboratory for Molecular Medicine at the Partners Healthcare Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine and Instructor in Pathology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Shen received her Ph.D. at Harvard University and her research focuses on genetic testing and gene discovery for hearing loss.

The Research

Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Harvard Medical School
An integrated paradigm for efficient hearing loss gene discovery

Knowing the genetic cause of hearing loss allows early diagnosis before the onset of noticeable symptoms. It also informs the choice of optimal management plans, and predicts risks for relatives including future babies. We aim to identify novel hearing loss genes by studying three large families with hereditary hearing loss from an isolated population. We will integrate new High- Throughput (HTP) sequencing technology with family-based analyses and prior research findings concerning hearing into the Shared Harvard Inner Ear Laboratory Database (SHIELD). This integrated approach will enable efficient identification of one or more hearing loss genes in these families. The discovery of novel genes will increase our knowledge, enable early diagnosis, and ultimately lead to improved patient care.

Research area: Fundamental auditory research

Long-term goal of research: To translate genetic research findings into accurate and sensitive clinical molecular diagnostic tests to improve care for patients.