Dr. Alan Cheng has been a physician-scientist investigator in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Stanford University for over 15 years. He is Edward and Amy Sewall Professor, director of the Stanford Clinician Scientist Training Program and chief of the division of Pediatric Otolaryngology. Dr. Cheng pursued his residency training in Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at University of Washington.  During residency, he undertook a two-year NIH-sponsored research fellowship investigating mechanisms of hair cell degeneration under the mentorship of Edwin Rubel.  After residency he sought fellowship training in pediatric otolaryngology in Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School. 

At Stanford Dr. Cheng’s research has focused on inner ear cell regeneration and aminoglycoside ototoxicity. His work has led to the discovery of Wnt-responsive hair cell progenitors in the mouse cochlear and and vestibular organs. His most recent work has helped define mechanisms of vestibular hair cell regeneration in mice and humans. 

Title: Regeneration of the mammalian inner ear-a balancing act

Abstract:

Sensory hair cells in the inner ear balance/vestibular organs serve to detect head rotation and gravity. The mammalian balance organs have a remarkable and modest ability to regenerate lost hair cells. Using fate-mapping approaches and single-cell RNA sequencing, my group has compared and contrasted the morphology and transcriptome of developing and regenerating hair cells in the mouse vestibular organ utricle. I will also share our gene therapy approaches to enhance the innate regenerative capacity in the mouse utricle. Lastly, I will present our work on characterizing the molecular features of the normal and damaged human utricle at the single-cell level.