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Angelika Doetzlhofer, Ph.D.

Angelika Doetzlhofer, Ph.D.

Headshot of Angelika Doetzlhofer
  • Associate Professor of Neuroscience

Research Interests

Hair cell regeneration; Hearing; Auditory development ...read more

Background

Dr. Angelika Doetzlhofer is an associate professor of neuroscience and otolaryngology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is also is a faculty of the Johns Hopkins Center for Hearing and Balance.

Dr. Doetzlhofer’s research primarily seeks to identify and characterize the molecular mechanisms of hair-cell development in the mammalian auditory system – and to identify the molecular roadblocks that prevent mammalian hair cells from regenerating. This work has important clinical potential for the treatment of patients who suffer from hearing and balance disorders.

She earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biochemistry from the Universität Wien in Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Doetzlhofer completed a post-doctoral fellowship in molecular and developmental biology—and served as a senior research associate—at House Research Institute before joining the Johns Hopkins faculty in November 2008.

...read more

Titles

  • Associate Professor of Neuroscience
  • Associate Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery

Departments / Divisions

Centers & Institutes

Education

Degrees

  • Ph.D.; University of Vienna (Austria) (2000)

Additional Training

Postdoctoral fellow at House Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA (2007)

Research & Publications

Research Summary

The Doetzlhofer Lab seeks to identify and characterize the gene regulatory networks that govern auditory sensory development and regeneration. The inner ear auditory sensory epithelium is critical for our ability to detect sound. Damage or loss to its mechano-sensory hair cells is permanent, leading to hearing deficits and deafness. However, in non-mammalian vertebrates, surrounding supporting cells undergo a process of de-differentiation after hair cell loss, and replace lost hair cells by either cell division or direct trans-differentiation.

Current research topics include:

  • The role of RNA binding proteins LIN28B and TRIM71 in regulating auditory progenitor behavior and supporting cell plasticity.
  • The function of Notch signaling pathway in supporting cell development and hair cell regeneration. 
  • The role of morphogen gradients in the differentiation and tonotopic specialization of the auditory organ.

Lab

Lab Website: Doetzlhofer Laboratory - Center for Sensory Biology

Selected Publications

View all on PubMed

Chrysostomou E, Zhou L, Darcy YL, Graves KA, Doetzlhofer A, Cox BC. The Notch Ligand Jagged1 Is Required for the Formation, Maintenance, and Survival of Hensen's Cells in the Mouse Cochlea. J Neurosci. 2020 Dec 2;40(49):9401-9413. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1192-20.2020. Epub 2020 Oct 30. PMID: 33127852

Li XJ, Doetzlhofer A. LIN28B/let-7 control the ability of neonatal murine auditory supporting cells to generate hair cells through mTOR signaling. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Sep 8;117(36):22225-22236. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2000417117. Epub 2020 Aug 21. PMID: 32826333

Prajapati-DiNubila M, Benito-Gonzalez A, Golden EJ, Zhang S, Doetzlhofer A. A counter gradient of Activin A and follistatin instructs the timing of hair cell differentiation in the murine cochlea. Elife. 2019 Jun 12;8:e47613. doi: 10.7554/eLife.47613. PMID: 31187730

Campbell DP, Chrysostomou E, Doetzlhofer A. Canonical Notch signaling plays an instructive role in auditory supporting cell development. Sci Rep. 2016 Jan 20;6:19484. doi: 10.1038/srep19484. PMID: 26786414

Golden EJ, Benito-Gonzalez A, Doetzlhofer A. The RNA-binding protein LIN28B regulates developmental timing in the mammalian cochlea. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Jul 21;112(29):E3864-73. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1501077112. Epub 2015 Jul 2. PMID: 26139524

Contact for Research Inquiries

Johns Hopkins University
855 North Wolfe Street
The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience
Baltimore, MD 21205 map
Phone: 410-614-9215
Fax: 443-287-7672

Email me

Academic Affiliations & Courses

Graduate Program Affiliation

Neuroscience Graduate Program

BCMB Graduate Program

Activities & Honors

Honors

  • Basil O'Connor Scholar, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, 2011 - 2013
  • Hamilton Smith Award for Innovative Research, Johns Hopkins University, 2021
  • Whitehall Award, Whitehall Foundation, 2010 - 2013

Memberships

  • Society for Neuroscience, 2011

    Member

  • Association for Research in Otolaryngology, 2008

    Member

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