09-12, 14:00–15:00 (Europe/Istanbul), Otology 4
This session introduces optogenetic hearing restoration, a novel strategy using light-sensitive proteins (opsins) to enable precise, optical stimulation of auditory neurons. This approach bypasses damaged hair cells to directly activate the auditory nerve with light.
Outcome Objectives Participants will be able to:
Explain the basic mechanism of optogenetic stimulation in the cochlea.
Compare the potential benefits of optogenetics over traditional cochlear implants.
Identify key challenges for clinical translation.
Background Cochlear implants provide limited spectral resolution. Optogenetics offers a revolutionary approach to potentially restore high-fidelity hearing by enabling more precise, frequency-specific activation of the auditory nerve than is possible with electrical stimulation.
Kaynaklar
Daniel Lee is the Ansin Foundation Chair in Otolaryngology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) and Harvard Medical School. He is Director of Pediatric Otology and Neurotology, Program Director of the Harvard Neurotology Fellowship and Director of International Patient Services in the Department of Otolaryngology at MEEI. Dr. Lee's funded basic and translational research group seeks to answer fundamental questions about central auditory processing and how to improve auditory brainstem implant outcomes for patients with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2). He has developed an international center for the care of patients with superior canal dehiscence syndrome, endoscopic ear surgery, and complex cochlear and auditory brainstem implant surgery. He serves on the scientific advisory board for Skylark Bio, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company focusing on gene therapy for children with GJB2 related congenital hearing loss.
