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George A. Gates, M.D. – Conference Chair
George A. Gates, M.D., Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, is an experienced clinical investigator and otologist who serves as the Scientific/Medical Director of the Deafness Research Foundation. Dr. Gates' background in inner ear surgery, including cochlear implants, brings clinical expertise to the conference planning committee. Jennifer Stone, Ph.D. – Conference Co-PI
Dr. Stone is a Research Associate Professor in the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center and Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Department at the University of Washington. She has studied how the chicken auditory epithelium responds to hair cell damage. Her current work examines the molecular mechanisms underlying progenitor cell trans-differentiation and proliferation, with emphasis on the roles of transcription factors and extracellular signaling in progenitor cell behavior. Douglas A. Cotanche, Ph.D.
Douglas A. Cotanche is the Director of Research for the Department of Otolaryngology at Children's Hospital and Associate Professor of Otology & Laryngology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Cotanche's research has focused on the development and regeneration of vertebrate hair cells and the tectorial membrane. In 1985, he co-discovered avian regeneration of cochlear hair cells. Currently, the work in his lab is also exploring the therapeutic potential of stem cell transplantation into the damaged mammalian cochlea. Andrew Forge, Ph.D.
Andrew Forge is the organizer and Director of the multidisciplinary Centre for Auditory Research at University College London, UK. Prof Forge has organized a Workshop on Inner Ear Biology, an international meeting held annually in Europe, in London in 1988, and twice he has organized the annual British Society of Audiology Scientific Short Papers meeting, in 1998 and 2004, both times in London. In addition, he was organizer and chair of an international conference on Hair Cell Regeneration at Wye College in 1993. Prof. Forge's research focuses on the factors that affect hair cell regeneration. Stefan Heller, Ph.D.
Dr. Heller is Associate Professor of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery and Associate Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology joined the faculty of Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Heller's laboratory is working on finding solutions for cell replacement in the damaged cochlea using stem cells and progenitor cells. In addition, Dr. Heller's group focuses on elucidating the molecular principles of mechanoreception – his previous work includes the identification of the first mammalian ion channel gated by mechanical stimulation. Juichi Ito, M.D.
Dr. Ito is Professor and Chairman of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, in the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University. His research into neural stem cell transplantation into the mouse inner ear has been widely recognized as showing return of both auditory and vestibular function. He holds several Health and Labour Sciences Research Grants in Japan studying regenerative therapy, enhancement of cochlear implants with stem cells, and new approaches for restoration of communicative functions. Dr. Ito brings outstanding surgical expertise to the difficult subject of drug delivery to the inner ear. Yehoash Raphael, Ph.D.
Yehosash Raphael is Professor of Otolaryngology-HNS at the University of Michigan and a member of the Kresge Hearing Research Institute there. He has pioneered the experimental approach of recapitulating developmental gene expression in the mature ear for therapeutic purposes and is well-known for demonstrating avian non-mitotic regeneration and mitosis in supporting cells within the basilar papilla. In the mammal, he has contributed to the understanding of the process of scar formation and the role of supporting cells during hair cell degeneration. He has pioneered and optimized the use of adenovirus vectors for gene delivery to the inner ear. He has successfully expressed genes in the inner ear of deafened animals and stimulated the repopulation of the organ of Corti. Edwin Rubel, Ph.D.
Edwin Rubel, the Bloedel Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Washington, has been studying development and plasticity of the avian and mammalian inner ear and central pathways for over 30 years. In the area of Hair Cell Regeneration, Dr. Rubel and his colleagues have played a major role since the beginning and have gone on to identify and describe hair cell progenitor cells and the process of regeneration in the vestibular epithelium, have shown that regenerated hair cells mediate hearing and balance recovery, developed the first in vitro preparation of mature avian and mammalian inner ear sensory epithelium, demonstrated that potential progenitor cells reside in the mature mammalian inner ear sensory epithelium, investigated cellular/molecular mechanisms underlying hair cell regeneration in birds, and initiated the discovery of genes that may inhibit hair cell regeneration in mature mammalian inner ear. These pioneering studies have established a new area of molecular neuroscience with the potential for dramatic clinical impact. Neil Segil, Ph.D.
Dr. Segil is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Cell and Neurobiology at Univ. Southern California and a Section Chief of Cell Cycle, Growth and Differentiation in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the House Ear Institute, in Los Angeles. His lab studies mechanisms regulating cell cycle entry and exit during the development and regeneration of the inner ear. They have shown that maintenance of the postmitotic state of inner ear sensory hair cells is an active process involving the cell type specific regulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. In collaboration with Dr. Andy Groves, Dr. Segil's work has been instrumental in identifying and characterizing at the molecular level, progenitor cells that are able to differentiate into sensory and non-sensory cells of the auditory epithelium in mammals. This project involves the prospective identification, purification and growth in vitro of hair cell precursors. Mark E. Warchol, Ph.D.
Mark E. Warchol is Research Professor in the Departments of Otolaryngology and Anatomy and Neurobiology at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis MO. Prior to his present appointment, he was on the faculty of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. His research focuses on the mechanisms of sensory regeneration in the cochlea and vestibular organs. He was among the first researchers to demonstrate a potential for regeneration in the vestibular organs of mammals and has also investigated interactions between inner ear sensory cells and cells of the immune system. His lab is currently studying cell differentiation in the ear, both during embryonic development and during regeneration. |
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