Cellular & Molecular

Eagleson, Kathie

Associate Professor of Research Pediatrics and Neurology

Research projects investigate the development of brain architecture that controls social-emotional behavior and learning, and how early life experiences impact neurodevelopment. Genetic and environmental factors that regulate circuit and synapse formation are studied at the molecular and circuit level, using single cell and bulk RNA sequencing, viral circuit tracing, and multiplex in-situ hybridization. Preclinical mouse models use exposure to early adverse experiences to study age- and sex- specific mitochondrial adaptations that impact the emergence of cognitive, social and emotional behaviors across the lifespan.

Gnedeva, Ksenia

Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery and Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine

Our perception of the environment relies on specialized cellular receptors residing in epithelial sensory organs. While olfactory and gustatory receptor cells are naturally reproduced throughout life in order to sustain the senses of smell and taste, age-related degeneration of retinal, auditory, and vestibular sensory organs is largely irreversible in humans. In the Gnedeva laboratory, we interrogate how molecular signaling and tissue mechanics control embryonic sensory organ growth and how the developmental programs of self-renewal and differentiation can be re-initiated in the mammalian inner ear after damage. Although the focus of our research is on hearing and balance restoration, our lab has broader interest in the common mechanisms that suppress regeneration in specialized sensory tissues.

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