Thanks to an NSF grant, Duane McPherson, associate professor of biology, was among presenters at a symposium on "The Integrative Biology of Sensory Hair Cells" during the recent annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.
GENESEO, N.Y. – Duane McPherson, associate professor of biology, received a $13,537 award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support travel expenses and fees for eight presenters at a symposium titled “Integrative Biology of Sensory Hair Cells.” The symposium was part of the recent annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB).
McPherson helped organize the symposium and was among the presenters supported by the NSF award. The group included investigators who study the evolution of sensory hair cells, the development of those cells and the physiological mechanisms that allow those cells to function.
Sensory hair cells are mechanosensory cells that respond to sound, gravity, acceleration and water pressure in vertebrate animals. In humans, they are necessary for hearing and for vestibular function. Developmental defects or later loss of function are a major cause of deafness and impairment of postural stability and the ability to stand or walk.
McPherson said the symposium promoted dialogue and exchange of ideas among investigators who would not ordinarily be interacting at the same symposium. He said an expected outcome would be the development of new collaborations, leading to novel approaches to the fundamental questions of hair cell evolution, development, physiology and regeneration.
Proceedings of the symposium are to be published in the peer-reviewed journal “Integrative and Comparative Biology.”