OtoBiology Leiden

Our group is researching the development of the human inner ear and aims to restore hearing and balance with new therapeutic strategies.

INNER EAR RESEARCH

The inner ear consists of the organs of hearing and balance. When these organs are disfunctioning, it results in hearing loss or balance disorders, or both. This is a major health issue worldwide.

Especially in the human inner ear, not everything about this organ and its development is known yet. This is important to investigate, as it will help us in understanding inner ear disorders both in adult life as well as present at birth. Therefore, one of the focusses of our lab is to investigate the development of this organ, which we do by looking at it's anatomy, cells, genes and proteins.

…

INNER EAR RESEARCH

The inner ear consists of the organs of hearing and balance. When these organs are disfunctioning, it results in hearing loss or balance disorders, or both. This is a major health issue worldwide.

Especially in the human inner ear, not everything about this organ and its development is known yet. This is important to investigate, as it will help us in understanding inner ear disorders both in adult life as well as present at birth. Therefore, one of the focusses of our lab is to investigate the development of this organ, which we do by looking at it's anatomy, cells, genes and proteins.

The other major focus of our research group is translative: what can we do to restore a persons hearing and/or balance? Currently there are no real therapies for these disorders. We can tremendously help patients with hearing aids or cochleair implants, but curative options do not exists. Using (stem)cell culture techniques, organoids, on a chip platforms and gene editing we gain knowledge and explore new treatment modalities, with the goal of bringing this back to clinical outcome research.

Themes for innovation / societal outreach

Key publications

Our team members

  • Peter Paul van Benthem, head of ENT department / Professor in otolaryngology
  • Heiko Locher, MD PhD, Principle Investigator
  • Wouter van der Valk, MD, senior researcher / lab head
  • John de Groot, PhD, senior researcher
  • Edward van Beelen, MD, PhD student / ENT resident
  • Lucia Grijpink, MD, PhD student
  • Amy Lucassen, PhD student
  • Esther Fousert, PhD student
  • Shanta Udayappan, research technician