Katherine Shim, PhD

Assistant Professor
Division of Research
Department of Otolaryngology & Communication Sciences

Dr. Shim is interested in how the three-dimensional structure of the inner ear is formed during embryonic development and how the sensory regions of the inner ear epithelium are patterned.

Dr. Shim takes a molecular and genetic approach to understanding inner ear development in the mouse, and current work is focused on understanding the role of the Sprouty family of receptor tyrosine kinase antagonists in inner ear development and function. In particular, Dr. Shim found that Sprouty2 mutant mice are born with severe hearing impairment associated with a postnatal cell fate transformation of a Deiters’ cell into a pillar cell, resulting in the formation of an ectopic space (tunnel of Corti) within the auditory sensory epithelium.

It is her hope that these studies will uncover mechanisms by which congenital hearing and balance disorders arise, and provide clues to their treatment.

Education/Training

• Bachelor of Science (BS) in Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 1993

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Biochemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 2001

• Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 2007

Society Memberships

• Association for Research in Otolaryngology

Research Interests

• Specification and morphogenesis of the inner ear epithelium

• Patterning of the auditory sensory epithelium