Abstract
How the inner ear responds to tissue loss after trauma and wounding (e.g by loud noise exposure) is of considerable clinical interest. Slow or defective wound closure increases the risks of additional damage due to the mixing of the inner ear fluids. The aim of this project is to quantitatively understand how cytoskeletal machineries organize in space and time to regulate tissue repair in the inner ear.
This will be achieved by developing an in silico model of the inner ear epithelium, integrating molecular biochemistry, structure and mechanics. The model will be used to interpret and direct mechanical experiments on the sensory epithelia, combining gene-expression techniques, live imaging and automated image analysis. Together, these approaches will determine how actomyosin structures dynamically reorganize to control tissue-scale mechanics during sensory epithelial wound healing.
References
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