At the Institute, Dr. Collazo’s research is focused primarily on the movement and interaction of cells during inner ear development. He and his research team are identifying the candidate genes that may be involved in early ear patterning in order to understand how the different clusters of hearing cells form in their precise geometry to function normally. Dr. Collazo’s lab is also exploring how a cell decides to become either a sensory hair cell or the neuron that wires the ear to the brain. Both cells are embryologically derived from the same skin flap that forms the inner ear. One gene potentially involved in this process is Six1 which when mutated in humans can result in deafness and kidney pathologies. Studies in his lab could lead to an understanding of certain cases of hearing loss and balance problems in newborns due to auditory nerve dysfunction.

Dr. Collazo has received grants and awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association and National Institute of Mental Health. He is a clinical assistant professor of otolaryngology in the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He has spent the last 12 summers teaching at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals including Development, Science, Current Biology, American Naturalist and Evolution.

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