Hinrich Staecker, MD, PhD completed medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine with distinction in Otology Research. After completing his residency in otolaryngology at Montefiore Medical Center, he went on to a fellowship in Otology and Neurotology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School. Currently he is the David and Mary Zamierowsky Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Dr. Staecker is a member of the Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum, a fellow of the Triological Society and a member of the American Otological Society. His research work focuses on drug delivery to the inner ear. He was instrumental in the development of the first clinical trial of human inner ear gene therapy and is currently the principal investigator in numerous clinical trials focusing on the treatment of hearing loss and tinnitus.