RESEARCH

Chris Pastras and Mohsen Asadnia, researchers at Macquarie Research, are working on several projects that are happening at Macquarie University re Meniere’s Disease

One project as most of you know is on Nanotechnology.  This has now been published in the Journal of Nanomedicine (see attachment).    

Another has been submitted to work on MD to the Journal of Hearing and Research which discusses the future therapies and also clinical trials.  

They are also working on other projects such as describing the pathology of acute attacks in MD which may be due to membrane ruptures, bloating (hydrostatic) inflammation (thermodynamics), or ischemia.

They are also in the process of setting up an animal research facility dedicated to Meniere’s research, with faculty funding and approval.

(posted 24 October 2022)

Support Meniere's Research Fund
This clinical study is to determine the involvement of viruses in the symptoms of Meniere’s Disease.

For full details of this study, please see the attached letter written by Professor Bill Gibson and Associate Professor Payal Mukherjee.

See also a recent report written by Christphoner Pastras.

Dr Pastras is a second-year early career researcher at the University of Sydney. His main area of research is inner ear physiology and mechanics, with a particular focus on the mammalian vestibular system and Meniere’s disease. His work involves specialized electrophysiological and mechanical recordings from the inner ear of anaesthetized guinea pigs and mice, as well as various experimental manipulations, mathematical modelling, and morphological techniques. In 2019, Dr Pastras was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship by the Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation, to further develop tools to assess peripheral vestibular function, in vivo. Following this, Dr Pastras was awarded the highly competitive and prestigious, Macquarie University Research Fellowship (MQRF), and will continue his work at MQU in collaboration with the School of Engineering, Australian Hearing Hub, Cochlear Pty, and Macquarie University Hospital. Dr Pastras is also the Chief Investigator on projects to investigate the pathophysiology of endolymphatic hydrops in Meniere’s disease. Using a systems physiology and engineering approach across various mammalian models, Dr Pastras hopes to uncover the basic physiology of vestibular transduction, involving mechanics, hair cells and neurons, as well as to understand the root cause of vertigo attacks in Meniere’s disease, among other things.