At the heart of hearing is the sensory hair cell: a polarized epithelial-type cell that converts acoustic signals in the environment to electrochemical signals in the nervous system. These cells are exquisitely sensitive to sound and unfortunately to damage from a variety of sources including noise and some classes of medications. This damage causes hearing loss, cutting us off from the outside world. Research in the Coffin Lab seeks to understand the cellular events underlying hearing loss so that we may prevent these events and preserve hearing. We primary study zebrafish, but also use other fishes as model systems for this research. We have recently begun using mice in our drug development efforts.

Our research examines several inter-related questions:

• What cellular and molecular events trigger hair cell death following a toxic insult?
• How can we develop pharmacological therapies to prevent hair cell death and preserve hearing?
• How do environmental toxins influence lateral line development and function?
• How do differences in protein structure and function affect hair cell regeneration?

In addition, we are interested in more fisheries-related questions, specifically the way the hatchery rearing environment affects development and function of the lateral line in juvenile salmonids, and how underwater sound affects fish ears.