The University of Miami's Office of Research Administration - School of Medicine Division received a $767,494 Project Grant award from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) under the Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders program (CFDA 93.173). The purpose of this 5-year grant is to establish and optimize 3D human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived inner ear organoid platforms as an experimental model for testing therapeutic strategies and gene targeting approaches to address hearing loss and other audiovestibular disorders. Key project activities include using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to disrupt or correct genetic mutations associated with hearing loss in the organoid models, and conducting multi-omic analyses to identify disease biomarkers and treatment responses. This innovative research is expected to lay the groundwork for future clinical trials of gene-based interventions for genetic hearing loss conditions.
Generated 3/4/25, 5:09 AM