I lead the Nolan Hearing Laboratory; we are interested in how biological sex impacts cochlea function in health and disease. We are particularly interested in age-related/adult-onset hearing loss (ARHL), a complex neurodegenerative disease that affects millions of adults worldwide. A key focus of our work is to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie the long-known sex differences in the maintenance of hearing over the life course with a view to determine if sex-specific molecular pathways can be identified that are suitable as potential drug targets in ARHL.

To address our research questions, we adopt an interdisciplinary approach combining auditory electrophysiological recordings, confocal imaging and transcriptomic data from conditional knockout mouse models and ovariectomised mice with knowledge gained from genetic studies in humans. Our work is funded by the Wellcome Trust. Previous funders include RNID.

I am an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Neuroscience Research and an active member of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO).

Please see my Research Staff Profile for more detail.

Key Publications:

• Nolan et al., 2022. Targeted deletion of the RNA-binding protein Caprin1 leads to progressive hearing loss and impairs recovery from noise exposure in mice. Scientific Reports.
• Huyck et al., 2021. Supporting Equity and Inclusion of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Individuals in Professional Organizations. Frontiers in Education.
• Nolan, 2020. Age-related hearing loss: Why we need to think about sex as a biological variable. Journal of Neuroscience Research.
• Mistry et al., 2014. Cochlear implantation in the mouse via the round window: Effects of array insertion. Hearing Research.
• Nolan et al., 2013. Estrogen-related receptor gamma and hearing function: evidence of a role in humans and mice. Neurobiology of Aging.

Key Collaborators:

 

• Dr Anwen Bullen, University College London, Ear Institute, UK.
• Dr Matthew Kelley, National Institute on Deafness & Other Communication Disorders, Porter Neuroscience Research Centre, USA.
• Dr Ben Warren, University of Leicester, UK.