2026 BHB Schedule

Below is the tentative schedule for 2026.

Week 1: 7/13/26 Foundations of Auditory and Vestibular Biology

Lectures:
Introduction to the function and development of the auditory and vestibular systems; inner ear immunology; mechanisms of ototoxicity; hair cell regeneration.

Laboratory Sessions:
Chick and mouse inner ear dissections; immunostaining and imaging; inner ear paint fills; electron microscopy.

Week 2: 7/20/26 Sensory Hair Cells and Circuit Development

Lectures:
Zebrafish lateral line; stem cells and inner ear organoids; mammalian auditory and vestibular hair cells and synapses; hair bundle structure; mechanotransduction channels and gating; outer hair cell motility; and vestibular analysis and disorders.

Laboratory Sessions:
Zebrafish experimental modules; spontaneous activity in the developing auditory system; hair cell mechanotransduction; midbrain slice electrophysiology; and vestibular reflex demonstrations.

Week 3: 7/27/26 Neural Encoding, Circuits, and Disease

Lectures:
Auditory nerve encoding; auditory behavior; auditory cortex and midbrain circuits; noise-induced damage and aging; hereditary hearing loss; and gene therapy approaches.

Laboratory Sessions:
Auditory evoked potentials; distortion product otoacoustic emissions; in vivo recordings from the auditory nerve, inferior colliculus, and auditory cortex.

In addition to scheduled lectures and laboratory sessions, most evenings include a special lecture or course-related event.