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by Jamie Morrison
The hope of hearing restoration is now very likely within the reach of hearing science. The simultaneous discovery in 1986 by Doug Cotanche, Ph.D., now at Boston University, and Ed Rubel, Ph.D., at the University of Washington, that birds can spontaneously regenerate damaged hair cells has given researchers the impetus to search ever more fervently for ways to enable humans to benefit from this ability. If a way can be found, then those suffering hearing loss from noise, toxicity or other trauma can regain their hearing.
Many of the top researchers in the field of hearing science are focusing on this promising area, with estimates of a solution coming to the fore ranging between 10 and 30 years from now. Deafness Research Foundation's (DRF) $50-million Hearing Restoration Project will help to speed the search for answers. We highlight below ten of the top researchers to watch in the coming years in this area of biological hearing restoration.
Jeffrey Corwin, Ph.D. — University of Virginia
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/corwin-lab/
Dr. Corwin and his team of six researchers focus on the regeneration of auditory receptor cells, seeking to find ways to stimulate the regeneration of neurosensory cells and means for preventing their loss.
Doug Cotanche, Ph.D. — Boston University
http://www.bu.edu/hrc/cotanche.html
Dr. Cotanche is examining developmental factors which regulate the growth of hair cells in the cochlea during normal embryonic development and in regeneration following noise-induced trauma.
Albert Edge, Ph.D. — Eaton-Peabody Laboratory, Harvard University
http://research.meei.harvard.edu/epl/investigators.html
Dr. Edge, who teaches otology and laryngology at Harvard Medical School, is one of the leading authorities on auditory neuron replacement and on biological inner ear regeneration.
Bruce Gantz, M.D. — University of Iowa
http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/med/otolaryngology/faculty/gantz.html
Dr. Gantz has been a leader in research on cochlear implants, the management of facial paralysis, hearing preservation in acoustic tumor surgery and the management of chronic otitis media, while also studying the treatment of sudden deafness.
Andy Groves, Ph.D. — House Ear Institute
http://www.hei.org/research/scientists/agroves.html
Dr. Groves, who works closely with Neil Segil (see below), is exploring ways of regenerating human hair cells, though working at the present with other animals, such as mice, into which he "used genetic engineering to create a strain of mice that contained a gene for green fluorescent protein from jellyfish. We put the jelly fish DNA into the mice where it created fluorescent green, living, supporting cells."
Stefan Heller, Ph.D. — Stanford University
http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Stefan_Heller/
Dr. Heller's main interest is on the exploration of signaling pathways that control hair cell and auditory neuron regeneration to enable a better understanding of inner ear development, leading to the development of therapies for inner ear disorders.
Edwin Rubel, Ph.D. — University of Washington
http://depts.washington.edu/rubelab/
Dr. Rubel, whose groundbreaking work in the 1980s helped launch the investigation into the biological regeneration of human hair cells, says "We're looking at ways of reserving hair cells, as well as regenerating them. It's really an exciting time in hearing research and I'm probably more enthusiastic about the field than I've ever been in my career. The field is really wide open in terms of potential therapies."
Neil Segil, Ph.D. — House Ear Institute
http://www.hei.org/research/scientists/segil.html
Coming out of a biochemistry background, Dr. Segil had never worked on the ear before joining the House Ear Institute. Along with Andy Groves, he now researches the inner ear sensory hair cells and cell cycle regulation during the development and regeneration of the inner ear.
Jennifer Stone, Ph.D. — University of Washington
http://faculty.washington.edu/stoner/index.html
Dr. Stone, who has worked with Dr. Rubel, now has her own Stone Lab which examines the mechanisms guiding embryonic and post-embryonic production of sensory hair cells in birds, focusing on hair cell development and hair cell regeneration.
Mark Warchol, Ph.D. — Washington University in St. Louis
http://aladdin.wustl.edu/pacs/pacsfac.nsf/F/8FF3247D86D77B3C86256ED80069BACC?OpenDocument
Dr. Warchol is another leading researcher in to the regeneration of human hair cells. He seeks answers as to the basic biology of the regenerative process in birds so that it can be adapted to prove useful in humans as well.
The work of these researchers, along with many others, holds great promise for those who have suffered significant hearing loss. This hope can be multiplied by DRF's Hearing Restoration Project, which will not only supply a new source of additional funding, but will establish a Hearing Research Consortium, a team of internationally recognized authorities which will combine the forces of various researchers and laboratories in a synergistic quest to find the answers they are all presently seeking independently. The hope of hearing restoration thus may come sooner than we might imagine.
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