Johns Hopkins Temporal Bone Tissue Bank
Johns Hopkins Human Temporal Bone Resource
Collects and shares human inner-ear (temporal bone) tissue and data to help doctors and researchers understand and treat ear and balance problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11137741 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This program preserves and shares human temporal bones (the part of the skull that contains the inner ear) so scientists can study causes of hearing loss and balance disorders. The team will digitize and image the historic collection of around 1,400 specimens and set up updated procedures to harvest and process new donor specimens. They will recruit donors from aging and otology studies that already consent to autopsy and brain donation, work with local partners to include diverse communities, and develop bilingual outreach. Researchers will also pilot spatial transcriptomics and other molecular methods to map gene activity in ear tissues, making the resource more useful for future treatments.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal donors are people who have agreed to autopsy or brain donation at Johns Hopkins or patients in local otology studies willing to donate temporal bone tissue after death.
Not a fit: People who are unwilling to consent to post-mortem donation, live outside the Baltimore region with no way to coordinate donation, or whose conditions are unrelated to ear disease are unlikely to directly benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could speed discoveries about the biological causes of hearing and balance disorders and support development of better diagnostics and treatments.
How similar studies have performed: Historic temporal bone collections have enabled important findings in ear disease, but applying modern imaging and spatial transcriptomics to human temporal bones is a relatively recent and expanding approach.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lauer, Amanda M. — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Lauer, Amanda M.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.