Joseph Santos-Sacchi, Ph.D.

Professor

Surgical Specialty

Otolaryngology
Cellular & Molecular Physiology and Neurobiology

Research Interests

The exquisite sensitivity and frequency resolving power of the mammalian inner ear depends upon interactions between the two receptor cells of the organ of Corti, inner (IHC) and outer (OHC) hair cells. Whereas inner hair cells appear to function solely as receptors of acoustic information, OHC’s function both as receptors and effectors, producing motile responses as a function of transmembrane potential fluctuations. These motile responses modify the mechanical input to the inner hair cells which receive the majority of afferent innervation, thereby enhancing the gross frequency tuning afforded by basilar membrane mechanics. We study the effector role of the OHC with electrophysiological (patch clamp) and displacement measurement techniques using isolated OHCs from the guinea pig. We also work on the motor protein (prestin) responsible for the cells’ mechanical activity, utilizing mutational analysis and expression systems to understand how it works.

Education:	A. B., Columbia College, CU, Psychology 1973 MPhil. D., Columbia University, Audiology 1978 Ph. D., Columbia University, Audiology 1978
Doctoral thesis:	An ultrastructural evaluation of normal strial capillary permeability using electron opaque tracer molecules.

Curriculum Vitae

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Contact

Office Address
Department of Surgery
Section of Otolaryngology
P.O. Box 208041
New Haven, CT 208041

E-mail
joseph.santos-sacchi@yale.edu

Office Phone
(203) 785-7566

Fax
(203) 785-3970