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Patricia M. White, Ph.D.

Contact Information

Phone Numbers

Office: (585) 273-2340

Research Labs

Faculty Appointments

Biography

Professional Background

Dr. White received her bachelor's degree in Biology from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena in 1989. She completed her Ph.D. degree in Developmental Biology, also at Caltech, in 2000, where she researched neural stem cells. She began post-doctoral work in hearing regeneration at the House Ear Institute, and joined the faculty at the University of Rochester Medical and Dental Center in 2010.

Dr. White's goal is to find a biological treatment to reverse noise-induced hearing loss through a better understanding of the function of different genes in the cochlea.

Research

Scientific Goals

I want to realize the promise of developmental biology for human medicine. If we can define, describe, and understand the molecular mechanisms that regulate cell division and differentiation, then in principle, we can manipulate cells and tissues to rebuild damaged or diseased organs.

We have begun this process for human deafness, which impacts one quarter of adults over the age of 65. For many of these individuals, decades of noise exposure results in the progressive loss of mechanosensory hair cells, which detect sound vibration in the cochlea. In mammals, lost hair cells are not replaced; consequently, damage accumulates as people age. Surprisingly, when we tested the developmental capacities of nearby cells to divide and create new sensory cells, we found a latent ability for regeneration. My work here at Rochester centers on identifying what molecules regulate inner ear regeneration in mammals. My goal is to find a biological treatment for noise-induced hearing loss.

Credentials

Education

1989
BS | California Inst of Tech
Biology

2000
PhD | California Inst of Tech
Developmental Biology

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

12/2000 - 12/2009
House Ear Institute, Los Angeles, CA

Awards


ARCS Scholar


Hearst Scholar

Publications

Journal Articles

12/9/2022
Na D, White PM. "Semi-Automated Analysis of Peak Amplitude and Latency for Auditory Brainstem Response Waveforms Using R." Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE.. 2022 Dec 9; (190)Epub 2022 Dec 09.

11/18/2022
Gilels FA, Wang J, Bullen A, White PM, Kiernan AE. "Deletion of the Notch ligand Jagged1 during cochlear maturation leads to inner hair cell defects and hearing loss." Cell death & disease.. 2022 Nov 18; 13(11):971. Epub 2022 Nov 18.

2022
Piekna-Przybylska D, Na D, Zhang J, Baker C, Ashton JM, White PM. "Single cell RNA sequencing analysis of mouse cochlear supporting cell transcriptomes with activated ERBB2 receptor indicates a cell-specific response that promotes CD44 activation." Frontiers in cellular neuroscience.. 2022 16:1096872. Epub 2023 Jan 06.

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