University of Manchester
Professor Bill Newman is a clinical geneticist based at the University of Manchester. He trained in Medicine in Manchester and then undertook postgraduate studies in Manchester and Toronto.
Bill’s clinical research has focussed on the identification of the genetic basis of a number of rare conditions and the genetic factors that influence responses to medication (pharmacogenetics).
More about Bill’s work
Bill has identified the causes of a number of rare forms of hearing loss where these are associated with other health problems, including Perrault syndrome. He has worked to develop and test a rapid point of care test, supported by RNID and NIHR, to be used in babies before treatment with gentamicin and avoid hearing loss. This has led to the generation of international guidelines.
His work on Perrault syndrome has provided fundamental insights into how this condition arises and formed the foundation of biological studies to consider the development of treatment strategies.
Using genetic tools to understand how mitochondria are involved in hearing loss
Read about Bill’s research projectBill’s approaches to hearing research
I believe that there are remarkable opportunities using a gene editing system called CRISPR-Cas to rapidly trial gene therapy approaches for hearing loss over the next few years.
Hearing loss is such a major cause of impaired quality of life that working in this area of research has a real opportunity to make a substantial difference to the lives of many individuals. We hope that our research will make major progress in the understanding of why people are affected by Perrault syndrome and how we can potentially treat this devastating disorder. The funding from RNID will help to do this alongside training a highly talented young researcher in hearing disorders.