Fixing a Damaged Cochlea

With knowledge gathered at this session, attendees will be able to:

• Describe some of the biological processes that lead to hair cell death following acoustic trauma
• Define how hair cell loss in the avian cochlea leads to regeneration of new hair cells and distinguish this from the mammalian cochlea where there is no regeneration following damage
• Interpret the potential for approaches such as gene therapy and stem cell transplantation to provide a therapeutic treatment for hair cell loss in the mammalian cochlea
• Describe work that is necessary for optimizing and preparing such therapeutic approaches for clinical applicability.