Stefan Heller
Academic Appointments
- Professor, Otolaryngology (Head and Neck Surgery)
- Member, Stanford Cancer Institute
- Member, Bio-X
- Professor (By courtesy), Molecular & Cellular Physiology
Key Documents
Contact Information
- Academic Offices
Personal Information Email
Professional Overview
Honors and Awards
- Member, Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum (9/2011)
- Edward C. and Amy H. Sewall Professor, Stanford School of Medicine (7/ 2010)
- McKnight Neuroscience of Brain Disorders Award, McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience (2005-2007)
- Albert and Ellen Grass Faculty Grant Award, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA (Summer 2004, Summer 2005)
- James Wiggins Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School (4/2005)
- Burt Evans Young Investigator Award, National Organization for Hearing Research Foundation (2005)
Professional Education
| Postdoctoral Fellow: | The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, Sensory Neuroscience (2000) |
| Dr rer nat (Ph.D.): | Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany, Genetics (1994) |
| Dipl Biol (M.S.): | Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany, Biological Sciences (1990) |
Postdoctoral Advisees
Lars Becker, Robert Boescke, Megan Ealy, Byron Hartman, Meike Herget, Mohammad Ronaghi, Mirko Scheibinger, Joerg Waldhaus
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Internet Links
Industry Relationships
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Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
Our current research aligns along three major routes.
First, we are interested how sensory hair cells develop and function. Of particular interest to us are proteins that control hair bundle development and proteins that are important for hair bundle function and synaptic vesicle trafficking.
Second, we have a strong focus on hair cell regeneration. Toward this goal, we are working on in vitro culture conditions for murine and human stem cells that re-create inner ear development in the culture dish. This work encompasses placodal development and prosensory specification, and it stretches toward investigating the formation of sensory epithelia as well as hair cell and supporting cell subtype specification. Another goal is to investigate the regenerative potential of organ of Corti supporting cell subtypes.
Finally, we are currently embarking on a project to characterize human hair cells and supporting cells generated from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells. We are focusing on the nonsyndromic genetic hearing loss genes MYO15 (encoding myosin 15 and GJB2 (encoding connexin 26).
Publications
- A novel ion channel formed by interaction of TRPML3 with TRPV5. PLoS One. 2013; (2): e58174
- FCHSD1 and FCHSD2 are expressed in hair cell stereocilia and cuticular plate and regulate actin polymerization in vitro. PLoS One. 2013; (2): e56516
- Special issue on inner ear development and regeneration. Hear Res. 2013: 1-2
- Tympanic border cells are Wnt-responsive and can act as progenitors for postnatal mouse cochlear cells. Development. 2013; (6): 1196-206
- Concise review: Inner ear stem cells--an oxymoron, but why? Stem Cells. 2012; (1): 69-74
- Oriented collagen as a potential cochlear implant electrode surface coating to achieve directed neurite outgrowth. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2012; (4): 1111-6
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