Dr Rachel Burt is Group Leader of the Molecular Hearing Laboratory and a Senior Research Fellow at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute. Dr Burt and her team are investigating the molecular genetics of deafness and using this knowledge to develop strategies for targeted prevention and treatment of hearing loss. The team is particularly focused on the use of novel small molecule inhibitors of apoptosis to protect against sensory hair cell death in the cochlea as a chemotherapeutic strategy for prevention of acquired hearing loss. Dr Burt studied Science at the University of Melbourne and completed a PhD in Medical Biology at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) in 2000 under the supervision of Professor Simon Foote, investigating the genetics of host resistance to malaria. This was followed by postdoctoral training in Professor Maria Karayiorgou's Neurogenetics Laboratory at the Rockefeller University in New York studying the genetics of Schizophrenia. Upon her return to Australia, Dr Burt worked as a Senior Research Officer in the division of Molecular Medicine at WEHI on a number of projects investigating genetics of complex diseases, and with Professor Doug Hilton, developed a research program pursuing the goal of developing biomolecular solutions for hearing loss. She remains an Honorary Researcher with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and with the Department of Genetics at the University of Melbourne.

Gene Discovery for Deafness and Defining the Regulation of Auditory Apoptosis