RESEARCH FOCUS

The long-term goal of the Stone lab is to develop biologic therapies to help people with sensorineural hearing and balance disorders. They are investigating regeneration of sensory hair cells in adult mice. They are seeking new ways to promote functional recovery, in particular after hair cell destruction in vestibular organs. They are also working to understand how each of the two subtypes of hair cell develop and adopt their distinct functions in mammalian vestibular organs. They use mouse genetics, cellular imaging, gene expression studies, and organ culture methods to address these fundamental questions of inner ear biology.