Congratulations Wanya Ansari on MAud Thesis Submission "Characterising the Microvasculature of the Rosenthal’s Canal in Sheep and Human Cochlea"
Congratulations, Wanya Ansari, on your MAud Thesis Submission Titled "Characterising the Microvasculature of the Rosenthal’s Canal in Sheep and Human Cochlea"
We’re excited to share a big piece of good news from our research group: We’re excited to share a big piece of good news from our research group: Wanya Ansari has submitted her Master of Audiology thesis! And it’s a seriously impressive piece of work.
Wanya's thesis research
Hearing loss affects around 1.5 billion people worldwide, and one of the most common forms is sensorineural hearing loss, where damage occurs in the inner ear and/or the auditory nerve. Inside the cochlea, sound information travels along auditory neurons called spiral ganglion neurons. These neurons sit inside a small bony tunnel called Rosenthal’s canal. Like all cells, these neurons need a good blood supply to stay healthy. When blood flow or vessel health is disrupted, it may make the auditory neurons more vulnerable. So understanding the “micro-plumbing” around these neurons is an important step in understanding hearing loss.
Wanya’s project tackled a deceptively tricky question in hearing research: what does the tiny blood vessel network look like in the part of the cochlea that supports the hearing neurons? Getting any answer to this question isn’t easy, because the Rosenthal's canal is buried inside the tiny but stiff cochlea.
Wanya used advanced methods to visualise tiny blood vessels in 3D. Even with real-world imaging challenges (especially deeper regions and basal cochlear samples), Wanya was able to repeatedly identify and map vessels in Rosenthal’s canal. She found that the vessel organisation beside the spiral ganglion looked broadly similar in sheep and humans.
Huge congratulations, Wanya
Most importantly, congratulations to Wanya on submitting her thesis. We enjoyed working with you and appreciate your hard work she’s contributed to the group. We’re also delighted to share that Wanya is moving on to her next chapter of starting work as an audiologist in Auckland in May. Wanya, best wishes for an amazing start to your audiology career.