We are still learning a lot from birds about sensory hair cell regeneration. The discovery that birds can regenerate their auditory hair cells and naturally restore their hearing sparked an ongoing investigation into the mechanisms behind this remarkable ability, leading to the creation of HHF’s Hearing Restoration Project. In this research webinar, Hearing Restoration Project member Stefan Heller, Ph.D., discusses how innovative technologies bring us closer to the understanding of the molecular signals that regulate the production of new hair cells in the inner ear of chickens. These insights open up new avenues for research that can be tested in mammals, which lack the ability to regenerate their hair cells.
Heller is a professor of otolaryngology–head & neck surgery at Stanford University and the Edward C. and Amy H. Sewall Professor at Stanford’s School of Medicine, as well as a faculty member at their Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. He is also a 2001–2002 Emerging Research Grants (ERG) scientist.
HHF’s research webinars are a live webinar series that shares the latest developments in hearing and balance research through our community of funded researchers. All sessions include an interactive Q&A with the speaker.
The series is moderated by Anil K. Lalwani, M.D., a member of HHF's Board of Directors and the head of HHF's Council of Scientific Trustees, which oversees the ERG program. He is a professor and the vice chair for research in the department of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, the associate dean for student research at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and a co-director at the Columbia Cochlear Implant Program.
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