Can stem cells restore hearing or create a more resilient heart? USC Stem Cell postdoctoral fellows Ksenia Gnedeva and Michaela Patterson are addressing these questions, with support from Eli and Edythe Broad fellowships. Gnedeva is exploring genes involved in the proliferation of sensory cells in the inner ear, with the goal of developing regenerative therapies for hearing loss. Specifically, she is looking at a group of genes and molecules called “Hippo,” which work together to sense the forces produced by developing tissues and restrict excess growth. Before arriving at USC, Gnedeva earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia, and obtained her PhD in developmental and cell biology from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and the Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology. She then completed four years of postdoctoral training in sensory neuroscience at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Rockefelle...