Resources Facilities The Eaton-Peabody Laboratories (EPL) at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) occupies ~10,000 sq ft, 2500 sq ft and 2000 sq ft on floors 4, 6 and 3, respectively. The laboratory is fully equipped for neurophysiological, anatomic, histologic, immunohistochemical and molecular studies. Clinical The Masschusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is a tertiary referral hospital and a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. The hospital has state of the art facilities for care of patients with hearing loss. Animal There is a fully equipped animal care facility at MEEI, which includes two animal rooms (~400 sq. ft. each) reserved for use by members of EPL. The facility also includes rooms for acute and chronic animals. Computer Personal computers with internet access are available throughout the EPL. Computer facilities are maintained by full time computer programmer and systems analysts. Office The P.I. has a 200 sq ft office at MEEI adjacent to her dedicated laboratory space of ~1000 sq ft. Other The P.I. has access to the viral core facility at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. The core facility is fully equipped for customized viral vector design.
Vestibular schwannoma (VS) is a non-cancerous intracranial tumor that can cause disabling problems, including hearing loss, tinnitus, balance disturbances and facial paralysis. No drug is FDA-approved to treat VS or the associated hearing loss. By studying human VS-secreted molecules that are likely mediators of hearing loss, we pave the way for future targeted therapies with broad relevance for human sensorineural hearing loss.
