Ruth Anne Eatock, PhD

Professor of Neurobiology
Professor of Neuroscience Institute
Committee on Computational Neuroscience
Committee on Neurobiology
Research and Scholarly Interests: Action Potentials, Hair Cell, Vestibular, Inner Ear, Sensory Function, Sensory Neurons, Synaptic Transmission, Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels, Voltage-Gated Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels
Websites: Eatock Lab - Signaling in the Inner Ear, Research Network Profile
Contact: eatock@uchicago.edu
Graduate Programs: Computational Neuroscience, Neurobiology, UChicago Biosciences, PhD Program in Neurobiology

We study mechanosensory signaling by the inner ear. We focus on the mouse utricle, where we have access to mechanosensitive receptor cells and primary afferent neurons. In this simple circuit we can address fundamental neurobiological questions, such as mechanotransduction, the nature of a simple sensory map, how transmission occurs across unique calyceal synapses, and how different kinds of information are encoded in the spike rate and timing of primary afferent neurons.

Caltech
Pasadena CA
PhD - Biology

McGill University
Montreal
B.Sc. - Honours Neurobiology

McGill University
Montreal
M.Sc. - Biology

MIT & Harvard
Cambridge, Boston
- Auditory Physiology

The potassium channel subunit KV1.8 (Kcna10) is essential for the distinctive outwardly rectifying conductances of type I and II vestibular hair cells.
The potassium channel subunit KV1.8 (Kcna10) is essential for the distinctive outwardly rectifying conductances of type I and II vestibular hair cells. bioRxiv. 2024 Aug 18.
PMID: 38045305

Effects of transient, persistent, and resurgent sodium currents on excitability and spike regularity in vestibular ganglion neurons.
Effects of transient, persistent, and resurgent sodium currents on excitability and spike regularity in vestibular ganglion neurons. bioRxiv. 2024 Jul 27.
PMID: 38076890

The Remarkable Outer Hair Cell: Proceedings of a Symposium in Honour of W. E. Brownell.
The Remarkable Outer Hair Cell: Proceedings of a Symposium in Honour of W. E. Brownell. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol. 2023 04; 24(2):117-127.
PMID: 36648734

Nonquantal transmission at the vestibular hair cell-calyx synapse: KLV currents modulate fast electrical and slow K+ potentials.
Nonquantal transmission at the vestibular hair cell-calyx synapse: KLV currents modulate fast electrical and slow K+ potentials. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 01 10; 120(2):e2207466120.
PMID: 36595693

The Differentiation Status of Hair Cells That Regenerate Naturally in the Vestibular Inner Ear of the Adult Mouse.
The Differentiation Status of Hair Cells That Regenerate Naturally in the Vestibular Inner Ear of the Adult Mouse. J Neurosci. 2021 09 15; 41(37):7779-7796.
PMID: 34301830

Predictors of pressure injury development in critically ill adults: A retrospective cohort study.
Sala JJ, Mayampurath A, Solmos S, Vonderheid SC, Banas M, D'Souza A, LaFond C. Predictors of pressure injury development in critically ill adults: A retrospective cohort study. Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2021 Feb; 62:102924.
PMID: 8694485

Retinoic acid degradation shapes zonal development of vestibular organs and sensitivity to transient linear accelerations.
Retinoic acid degradation shapes zonal development of vestibular organs and sensitivity to transient linear accelerations. Nat Commun. 2020 01 02; 11(1):63.
PMID: 31896743

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