Marta Roccio

Hearing loss (HL) is the most common sensory deficit in our society. Genetic mutations affecting inner ear function account for approximately 60% of all congenital deafness cases and occur in 1 in 1,000 newborns. When left untreated, HL impairs language development in children and hinders social integration.

Current treatment options include hearing aids for mild to moderate HL and cochlear implants for severe to profound HL. These devices amplify sound or mimic hearing by electrically stimulating auditory neurons in the inner ear. However, they are not curative, provide suboptimal sound quality compared to natural hearing, and often perform poorly in noisy environments or for music perception.

Gene therapy offers a transformative approach by targeting the root cause of HL to preserve or restore normal hearing. This can be achieved by correcting the underlying genetic defect or by supplying the affected cells with the missing gene or protein. Although genetic mouse models have been invaluable for proof-of-concept studies, their findings are not always directly translatable to humans.

With GEARit, Marta and her team aims to develop human-specific in vitro models of the inner ear to bridge this translational gap. Within the UZH Entrepreneur Fellowship, they will validate the platform to optimize gene delivery and expression in selected cell populations, with the ultimate goal of developing effective gene therapy candidates for autosomal recessive forms of genetic HL.

Affiliation: Prof. Dr. Elvir Becirovic
Start date: 1.09.25