University of Virginia-Main Campus · BiologyThe Auditory Development Lab
Xiaowei Lu · Charlottesville, Virginia
Research Focus
Dr. Xiaowei Lu's lab at the University of Virginia focuses on understanding how specific cell structures, particularly in the auditory system and during early development, contribute to health and disease. Their research explores how hair cells in the ear process sound and how defects in these cells can lead to hearing loss. The lab also investigates mechanisms that drive the formation of the neural tube, which, when disrupted, can result in severe birth defects.
hair cell developmentdeafnessmechanotransductionneural tube morphogenesiscell polarityactomyosin contractilitymolecular therapiesCRISPRprotein interactionsdevelopmental biology
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate the role of the Cep85l gene in hair cell morphology and hearing loss.
AIM 02Characterize the cytoskeletal defects in Cep85l knockout mice.
AIM 03Elucidate the signaling pathways engaged by Ptk7 during neural tube formation.
Skills the Lab Values
cell cultureCRISPRfluorescence microscopyelectron microscopymouse modelsbiochemistry techniquesgene editinglive imagingprotein-protein interaction assaysmolecular cloning
Output against the department
Publications113bottom 40% of dept.622nd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations6.3kbottom 45% of dept.566th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.