Inner Ear Modeling and Regeneration by Human Otic Organoids (B02)

• Subject Area: Experimental Models for the Understanding of Nervous System Diseases ; Developmental Neurobiology ; Otolaryngology, Phoniatrics and Audiology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 528760423

Advanced loss of auditory hair cells (HC) can be treated by direct stimulation of spiral ganglion neurons (SGN) via cochlear implants (CI). Unfortunately, SGN degeneration upon HC loss severely compromises CI performance and thus limits the rehabilitation of hearing. This project aims to develop novel therapies for inner ear regeneration encompassing gene therapy and cell transplantation approaches, capitalizing on otic organoids generated from human induced pluripotent stem cells as pre-clinical model of disease, screening platform for therapeutic applications, and as a cell source for transplantation.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1690: Disease Mechanisms and Functional Restoration of Sensory and Motor Systems
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Project Heads: Dr. Christian Wrobel; Maria Patapia Zafeiriou, Ph.D.