Research Areas
Hair-Bundle Mechanics
The hair bundle is the organelle that converts mechanical input into electrical output for transmission to the brain in the auditory, vestibular and lateral line systems of all vertebrates. The structure of a hair bundle determines its function.
Mechanics of the Ear
An active process boosts vibrations in the inner ear arising from sound, which largely determine the signal sent to the brain, more than a thousandfold. Although absence of the active process results in profound hearing loss, there is no consensus as to its mechanism.
Synaptic Dynamics
The output of the inner ear is filtered by hair-cell synapses. For example, the synapses of some hair cells exhibit frequency selectivity. We are interested in the relationship between inner-ear mechanics, electrical activity, and synaptic dynamics.