College of Medicine
Bird Lab
Led by Jonathan Bird · Pharmacology and Therapeutics
What we study
The Bird Lab studies how myosin motors generate force in hair cells, which are crucial for hearing and balance. They use experiments with mutant animal models, live-cell microscopy, and purified protein assays to understand how these motors regulate stereocilia, the tiny hairs that detect sound and movement.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Project
- 1
- Papers
- 5
Current projects
Molecular Mechanisms of Hair Bundle Development and Maintenance
Investigating how myosin motors regulate molecular trafficking within stereocilia to control actin dynamics and stereocilia architecture.
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- Tonotopic specialization of MYO7A isoforms in auditory hair cells
2026 · Nature Communications
Finds that different versions of MYO7A protein are found in different parts of hearing cells and affect hearing.
- Robust tauopathy and memory deficits in a mouse model constitutively overexpressing human P301L MAPT
2026 · Neurobiology of Disease
Tests whether a mouse model with human tau protein causes memory loss and brain damage like FTLD-tau.
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- Myosin-based nucleation of actin filaments contributes to stereocilia development critical for hearing
2025 · Nature Communications
Finds that myosin 15 helps build hair cells by starting actin filament growth.
- Myosin-dependent short actin filaments contribute to peripheral widening in developing stereocilia
2025 · Nature Communications
Shows how myosin motors help hair cells grow by adding new actin filaments.
- A Mutation in Tmem135 Causes Progressive Sensorineural Hearing Loss
2024 · Hearing Research
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
Jonathan Bird hasn't set up this page yet. Their UF Scholars profile lists their publications.