Karl Kandler, PhD
Director Auditory Research Group
Professor of Otolaryngology and Neurobiology
Biomedical Science Tower 3
3501 Fifth Avenue Room 10015
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Phone: 412-624-8398
kkarl@pitt.edu
Training Opportunities
Trainees in Dr. Kandler's laboratory have the opportunity to engage in research projects addressing fundamental questions in the plasticity and development of neuronal circuits. Our lab focuses on the mechanisms by which developing auditory circuits become refined, how this is influenced or guided by spontaneous and experience-evoked activity, and how auditory circuits change with hearing impairments (hearing loss, tinnitus).
Our lab uses a variety of state-of-the-art electrophysiological, imaging, anatomical, and behavioral methods, which we applied to normal and genetically modified mice. Our auditory group provides a rich interdisciplinary environment and trainees participate in joint lab-meetings and frequently also engage in cooperative projects with other laboratories of the auditory group (Rubio-lab, Tzounopoulos-lab).
For more information, please email kkarl@pitt.edu
Biography
1990 -1993 PhD University of Tübingen, Germany, Advisor: Eckhard Friauf
1993 -1997 Postdoctoral fellow with Dr. L.C. Katz, HHMI and Duke University
1998 -2004 Assistant Professor, Department Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine
2004 -2007 Associate Professor Department Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine
2007 -2010 Associate Professor, Director of Auditory Research Group, Department
of Otolaryngology and Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine
2006-present Adjunct faculty, Department of Biology, Carnegie Mellon University
2010-present Professor, Director of Auditory Research Group, Department of Otolaryngology and Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Honors and Awards
1983-1988 Fellow of the German National Scholarship Foundation
(“Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes”)
1994-1995 Feodor-Lynen-Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt - Stiftung
1999-2001 Alfred P. Sloan fellow
2000 Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering
2008 Chair, Gordon Research Conference "The Auditory System"
2010-2012 Chair, NIH Auditory Research Section
Research Interest
Development and Plasticity of Auditory Brainstem Circuits
Neuronal Mechanisms underlying Tinnitus
Research Summary
Fast and accurate processing of sound is crucial for hearing, including the localization of sound in space and the perception of language. In order to correctly process auditory information the brain depends on precisely organized neuronal circuits. To achieve the high organization that is present in the mature brain , developing auditory circuits undergo a number of structural and functional changes. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie this developmental reorganization and fine-tuning is important for understanding brain development and is crucial for understanding developmental disorders that are rooted in auditory dysfunction including developmetnal dyslexia and childhood tinnitus.
Dr. Kandler's laboratory investigates development plasticity of auditory circuits by studying the refinement of neuronal connections in the lateral superior olive (LSO), a nucleus which is involved in sound localization. To this end, Dr. Kandler’s team applies a variety of anatomical and physiological techniques to normal and genetically engineered mice. Current research focuses on the role of neuronal activity and early hearing experience in influencing brain connectivity and on the cellular mechanism by which specific patterns of neuronal activity are translated into specific patterns of connectivity.
Lab Members
Postdoctoral Fellows
International Research Scholar
Graduate Students
Research Associates
Past Lab Members Current Position
Elisabet Garcia-Pino, PhD Assistant Professor, Freie Universitate, Berlin Germany
Jason Castro, PhD Assistant Professor, Bates College, Maine
Tuan Nguyen, PhD Assistant Professor, College of NJ, New Jersey
David H. Chi, MD Assistant Professor, Dept. of Otolaryngology, U. of Pittsburgh
Amanda Clause, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, MA
Jihyun Noh, PhD Assistant Professor, Ewha Womans University, South Korea Abigail Kalmbach, MS Graduate Student, Northwestern University, IL
Deda Gillespie, PhD Assistant Professor, McMaster University, Canada
Gunsoo Kim, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Franciso
Hanmi Lee, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, CA
Seung-Cheol Ahn, PhD Associate Professor, Dankook University, Korea
Selected Publications
Kim G, Kandler K. (2011) Paired recordings from distant inhibitory neuron pairs by a sequential scanning approach. J Neurosci Methods. 200:185-189.
Castro JB, Kandler K (2010) Changing tune in auditory cortex. Nat Neurosci. 13: 271-273.
Noh J, Seal RP, Garver JA, Edwards RH, Kandler K. (2010) Glutamate co-release at GABA/glycinergic synapses is crucial for the refinement of an inhibitory map. Nature Neuroscience 13: 232-328.
Ene A, Kalmbach A, and Kandler K (2007) Metabotropic glutamate receptors in the lateral superior olive activate TRP-like channels: Age and experience-dependent regulation. J Neurophysiol. 97: 3365–3375.
Kandler K, Clause A, Noh J. (2009) Tonotopic reorganization of developing auditory brainstem circuits. Nat Neurosci. 12:711-717.
Hershfinkel M, Kandler K, Knoch ME, Dagan-Rabin M, Aras MA, Abramovitch-Dahan C, Sekler I, Aizenman E. (2009). Intracellular zinc inhibits KCC2 transporter activity. Nat Neurosci. 12:725-727.
Kullmann PHM and Kandler K (2008) Dendritic Ca2+ responses in neonatal LSO neurons elicited by glycinergic/GABAergic synapses and action potentials. Neuroscience, 12;154(1):338-45.
Seal RP, Akil O, Yi E, Weber CM, Grant L, Yoo J, Clause A, Kandler K, Noebels JL, Glowatzki E, Lustig LR, Edwards RH. (2008) Sensorineural deafness and seizures in mice lacking vesicular glutamate transporter 3. Neuron 57:263-75.
Gillespie DC, Kim G, Kandler K (2005) Inhibitory synapses in the developing auditory system are glutamatergic. Nature Neuroscience 8: 332-338.
Kim G and Kandler K (2003) Elimination and strengthening of inhibitory synapse during establishment of a tonotopic map. Nature Neuroscience. 6: 282-290.
(for full list see here)