Ruben Stepanyan, PhD

Assistant Professor
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Graduate Medical Education

PhD: Biophysics - Armenian NAS Biophysics Center
Postdoctoral Training: University of Kentucky

Bio

Ruben Stepanyan is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. After graduating from the department of Radiophysics at Yerevan State University he was accepted into the Armenian NAS Biophysics Center graduate program. Upon graduation he undertook his postdoctoral training in the Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, where he began his studies on mechanosensitivity of the sensory cells of the inner ear, the hair cells. Hair cells are receptor cells, which are sensitive to sounds or accelerations. The senses of hearing and balance depend on hair cells. Auditory hair cells do not regenerate in mammals; their disappearance after exposure to noise, ototoxic drugs, or due to aging is associated with a permanent loss of hearing. Understanding how these cells function will better enable us to develop plans and strategies for preventing or alleviating hearing loss.