A cell with extraordinary motile ability exists in our inner ear, the outer hair cell (OHC). To understand the role of OHC motility in hearing sensitivity, I measured the mechanical responses within the organ of Corti due to OHC forces. I found that the vibration pattern of the organ is complex and changes with frequency. These findings challenge the classical view of cochlear partition vibration.
My current goal is to understand how individual stereocilia within the hair bundle move in response to mechanical stimuli. This motion determines how the stimulus is coupled across the bundle and affects the opening and closing of transduction channels. Flow of current through these channels leads to neurotransmitter release and excitation of afferent nerve fibers.
Differential interference contrast microscopy image showing the hair bundle of an isolated bullfrog sacculus hair cell.
HST and SHBT gave the students intellectual life, the ability to integrate and interpret information, as well as the responsibility of passing on this ability to future generations. I saw my classmates and me asking questions we never dare ask ourselves because the answer might have been too difficult to comprehend. We learned to think; we were also taught to demand the best from our mentors and professors. For six years in SHBT I was in Noah's ark – felt one of a kind – a kind essential for intellectual life to continue.
