Konstantina M. Stankovich, MD, PhD, FACS is a Harvard-trained ear and skull base surgeon and a MIT-trained auditory neuroscientist. She is the Chief of the Division of Otology and Neurotology, and holder of the Sheldon and Dorothea Buckler Chair in Otolaryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and is an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School. In addition to her clinical duties, she directs a basic science laboratory focused on improving diagnosis and therapy of sensorineural hearing loss by combining molecular biology with biotechnology. Her recent research highlights include optical imaging of intracochlear cells without contrast dyes; the discovery of secreted molecules that mediate hearing loss due to vestibular schwannoma; demonstration that a novel, synthetic AAV vector enables safe and efficient gene transfer to the inner ear; the development of a prototype chip for a fully implantable cochlear implant; and energy extraction from the inner ear to run electronics.
