Research theme Sensory disorders

Sensory disorders About theme

The loss of our senses has a huge psychological and social impact on quality of life and poses a high burden on society. The number of blind and deaf individuals is expected to rise sharply over the next ten years as the global population is ageing. To limit the burden of sensory impairment, we need to develop tools that enable us to perform accurate diagnosis and prognosis of the disease, understand the underlying disease mechanisms and develop new treatments and rehabilitation strategies. Our mission is to have a significant impact on healthcare for sensory disorders, tailored to personalized needs.

Objectives

• We will implement advanced imaging technologies to improve diagnosis and monitor disease progression in the peripheral and central nervous system.
• We will develop diagnostic and prognostic tests based on clinical, behavioral, genetic and serum biomarkers.
• We will build large patient databases and biobanks for common and rare sensory disorders.
• We will use large-scale omics technologies to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying disease onset and disease progression.
• We will identify novel targets for therapy to prevent disease onset or to slow disease progression.
• We will develop and characterize cellular model systems and animal models to study disease mechanisms and test novel therapies.
• We will design innovative molecular treatments, develop retinal, cochlear and vestibular implants using advanced technologies, and establish perceptual training protocols.
• We will perform clinical trials and implement novel treatments and rehabilitation strategies in the clinic.
• We will identify clinical, behavioral, genetic and serum biomarkers that can predict response to treatment.
• We will develop personalized treatment regimes for sensory disorders based on clinical, behavioral, genetic and serum biomarkers.