research
Collaboration Remains Key A year into the working groups reorganization, the Hearing Restoration Project remains focused on cross-species analyses and is meeting with regeneration experts in the other research fields. By Lisa Goodrich, Ph.D.
We have our first glimpses of genes expressed across datasets and are well on our way to having lists of markers that will benefit the entire inner ear research community. As ever larger and more complex data sets are generated, centralizing some of this work is critical to finding genes and pathways relevant to hair cell regeneration and moving the HRP into its next phase. 38
hearing health
hhf.org
As February drew to a close, Hearing Health Foundation’s Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) gathered over two days for its annual meeting, again by Zoom, to assess progress over the past year and prioritize for the future, near and longer term. The 2022 format differed somewhat from that of prior years in dividing each day into two parts, the first half featuring talks and presentations, and the second half dedicated to taking stock of progress since our last annual meeting and strategizing next steps. One important advantage in structuring the meeting this way is the ability to include HRP members’ postdocs in the first half. These early career researchers are instrumental in completing the day-to-day work of HRP projects, and we take seriously the consortium’s role in training the next generation of research scientists. One of the presentations this year was by Seth Ament, Ph.D., co-chair of the Integrative Analysis working group, and Mahashweta Basu, Ph.D., HRP’s new full-time data analyst (see “Like a Master Class in Consensus,” opposite page). The Integrative Analysis working group has made outstanding progress toward focusing the cross-species analysis, starting with defining commonalities and differences among our target cells—the hair cells—which regenerate in some species and tissues and not in others. Having a dedicated data analyst is a welcome addition to the analysis that is conducted in every HRP member’s lab. Due to Dr. Basu’s efforts, we have our first glimpses of genes expressed across datasets and are well on our way to having lists of markers that will benefit the entire inner ear research community. As ever larger and more complex data sets are generated, centralizing some of this work is critical to finding genes and pathways relevant to hair cell regeneration and moving the HRP into its next phase. I was particularly excited to include this year an outside speaker—Freda Miller, Ph.D., professor of medical genetics at the University of British Columbia in Canada and an expert in stem cells and developmental neurobiology. Over the past year, the HRP has made a concerted effort to include perspectives from experts in regeneration in other fields. The spirit of collaboration that motivates the HRP itself similarly recommends that we learn from exchange with colleagues in other fields who grapple with challenges similar to the ones we face in the inner ear. Fittingly, Dr. Miller’s talk was followed by an update from consortium member Albert Edge, Ph.D., on stem cells in the inner ear and their ability to generate hair cells in cochlear organoids, a platform that will be increasingly important for screening genes and drugs in the future. The second half of each day was dedicated to more fine-grained discussions about assessing the mechanics of HRP collaboration and clarifying goals and
