The Department's Auditory and Vestibular Neuroscience Laboratory was established by Dianne Durham, PhD, to investigate biochemical and anatomical changes in central auditory neurons following manipulation of peripheral auditory input, central mechanisms of tinnitus, and avian and mammalian hair cell regeneration.

Hinrich Staecker, MD, PhD, continues to build on a career working with viral vectors to restore hair cells in the vestibular and auditory system and developing diagnostic biomarkers for diseases of the ear. He is also the Principal Investigator in the first human hair cell regeneration gene therapy clinical trial and other clinical trials focusing on inner ear drug delivery.