The Kim Lab
Research Area: Congenital hearing loss and inner ear immunology
Our research aims to understand the role of the inner ear immune environment in virally-mediated congenital hearing loss. This includes: 1) studying the evolving immune system during inner ear development, 2) profiling the immune response to viral infections of the inner ear and understanding its role in hearing loss, 3) identifying biomarkers for congenital infection and hearing loss to improve diagnostics, and 4) developing therapies to prevent congenital hearing loss.