USH Talks: Small Molecule and Gene Therapy Approaches to Mitigate Hearing Loss in Usher Syndrome III
December 5, 2017
Kumar Alagramam, PhD
In this USH Talk, Dr. Kumar Alagramam summarizes therapies to treat two common mutations in Usher syndrome III (USH3) and demonstrates proof-of-concept using animal models of USH3.
A small molecule is a low molecular weight (≤ 800 daltons) organic compound that may help regulate a biological process, with a size on the order of 1 nm. Most of the drugs we use today are small molecules.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Kumar N. Alagramam earned his Masters in Biotechnology and PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He received postdoctoral training in mammalian genetics at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Case Western Reserve University. The long-term goal of his lab is to understand the genetic basis of hearing and deafness. He has focused on ear dysfunction associated with Usher syndrome for the past 15 years. The current focus of his lab is on Usher syndrome type III (USH3). He developed various animal models to understand the etiology and develop therapies for USH3.
Contact details:
Publications of the studies referenced in this talk are free online:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29044151
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27110679
