Project description
Drosophila model for in vivo study of Meniere’s disease
Meniere’s Disease (MD) is an inner ear impairment with varying grades of adult-onset hearing loss, episodic vertigo, and tinnitus. Previous research identified MD candidate genes and studied the expression of the associated proteins in the sensory epithelial sheets of the vestibular system and the auditory Organ of Corti of the human and rodent inner ear. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions-funded FLYMEN project will study the hearing and balance system in Drosophila melanogaster as an in vivo MD model. The objective is to create a new animal model for MD to identify pathways involved in the decline of auditory and vestibular function and understand the interactions between genetic and environmental factors.
Objective
Too little is known about the complex hearing impairments and vestibular syndromes that develop in adults during their life course; new insights and novel scientific models are required. My project focuses on Meniere’s Disease (MD), a multifactorial impairment of the inner ear characterized by varying grades of (i) adult onset sensorineural hearing loss, (ii) episodic vertigo and (iii) tinnitus. During my PhD, I devised new approaches to decipher the genetic factors contributing to MD by combining whole exome sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. I identified candidate genes for MD and validated the expression of the associated proteins in two functional domains of the human and rodent inner ear: the sensory epithelial sheets of the vestibular system and the auditory Organ of Corti. To understand the functional importance of MD candidate genes, and their interplay with environmental factors, requires an experimentally tractable in vivo model. I here propose to use the hearing and balance system of Drosophila melanogaster as an in vivo model of MD. This will involve devising and employing novel experimental tools, such as novel tests of hearing and vestibular function, genome-wide transcription studies (RNA-Seq) and bioinformatics analysis. The project will provide a better understanding of the heterogeneous landscape of adult-onset inner ear pathologies, which will inform new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteins
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepathology
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineotorhinolaryngology
You need to log in or register to use this function
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EFCoordinator
EH8 9YL Edinburgh
United Kingdom