Navid Bavi, Ph.D.

Research

My research will explore how sensory membrane proteins in specialized cells of the ear boost sound sensitivity. Mutations in a protein called prestin lead to profound hearing loss, but how this protein participates in amplifying sound remains unclear. As a postdoctoral fellow, my work cataloged the detailed structural changes that prestin undergoes, and preliminary studies we conducted in my lab suggest that prestin engages in cross talk with other force-sensitive proteins in auditory cells. This cascade of interactions amplifies sound-induced vibrations into the electrical signals that are relayed to the brain’s auditory-processing centers. Now, combining advanced methods in structural biology, protein engineering, and live-cell biophysics with techniques I developed as a graduate student to measure mechanical forces in cells, my lab will map the complex electromechanical signals generated in auditory cells. We have extended this framework into other sensory tissues such as the heart, where a similar mechanism exists. Using our bioengineered tools, we will visualize real-time changes in membrane forces from single molecule to tissue—work that could lead to new models for testing therapies for hearing loss and more.