Prof. Karen B. Avraham

Prof. Karen Avraham’s research has centered on the discovery of disease genes, focusing on hereditary hearing loss. Her team takes a comprehensive approach to studying the molecular basis of hearing loss, using genetic, developmental, biochemical, cellular and bioinformatic tools. She leads efforts in next-generation sequencing for the discovery of disease genes that are relevant for the Israeli Jewish and Palestinian Arab hearing impaired population. Her group has demonstrated that non-coding RNAs – microRNAs, are essential for the development and functioning of inner ear hair cells in vertebrae.