Opportunity to undertake a PhD in gene therapy research
Preferred: Student who wishes to undertake a PhD (students undertaking Honours will be considered) and has a background in one or more of: physiology; neuroscience; biomedical science; genetics; and/or biotechnology/bioengineering.
For commencement late 2012 or beginning 2013.
The student will be supervised by Dr Rachael Richardson within the University of Melbourne Medical Bionics Department located at the Bionics Institute.
Project title
Gene therapy for restoring hearing.
Project aims
To determine if gene therapy is effective in preventing loss of hair cells and auditory neurons after the onset of deafness.
To determine if gene therapy can restore hearing after deafness by regenerating lost hair cells and auditory neurons.
Project description
Sensorineural hearing loss is often ignored until it affects people’s everyday lives. By then there is often significant and (currently) irreversible loss of hair cells and degeneration of auditory neurons.
Our recent research has demonstrated that gene therapy in the cochlea can prevent auditory neuron degeneration and even
regenerate hair cells after deafness.
We are now embarking on a new project that will investigate:
1. GDNF and BDNF gene therapy for hair cell and auditory neuron protection in a progressive hearing loss model.
2. Atoh1 gene therapy for hair cell regeneration after the onset of progressive hearing loss.
3. The clinical safety of gene therapy in the cochlea.