A study by a team of researchers from the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University offers new hope to millions of people with irreversible hearing loss. The researchers identified a unique biological mechanism that could, in the future, enable the regeneration of sensory hair cells in the inner ear—a process previously thought impossible in humans.

The study was conducted under the leadership of Prof. Karen Avraham, dean of the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and Drs. Sarah and Felix Dumont Chair for Research of Hearing Disorders. It was spearheaded by Lama Khalaily, a Tel Aviv University doctoral student, in collaboration with Prof. David Sprinzak of TAU’s Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Shahar Kasirer from Sprinzak’s laboratory, Dr. Litao Tao of Creighton University in Omaha, and additional researchers. The findings are published in the journal Science Advances.