Tianying Ren, M.D.

  • Research Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine
  • Professor, Oregon Hearing Research Center, School of Medicine

Biography

Background

Tianying Ren completed his medical and graduate education (M.D., M.S.) at Xi'an Medical University (now School of Medicine of Xi'an Jiaotong University) in 1983. Folowing his residency he worked as a lecturer in the Department of Otolaryngology at the First Teaching Hospital of Xi'an Medical University. He was a World Health Organization (WHO) fellow and a research investigator in Kresge Hearing Research Institute at the University of Michigan (1990-1995). He joined Oregon Hearing Research Center at Oregon Health &Science University as an Assistant Professor in 1996 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2003 and Professor in 2008.

Summary of current research

The Ren lab currently studies the role of somatic and hair-bundle motility in cochlear amplification by measuring cochlear micromechanics responses to acoustic and electric stimulations in normal and genetically modified cochleae using custom-built low-coherence heterodyne interferometers. The new data from these innovative measurements will provide critical information for understanding the role of outer hair cells in cochlear amplification and mechanisms of auditory disorders in humans.

The other research area of the Ren lab is on the generation and propagation of otoacoustic emissions. The objective of this study is to determine the cellular origin and sub-cellular mechanisms responsible for generation of distortion product (DP) OAE (DPOAE) by conducting a series of novel in vivo experiments using a scanning low-coherence interferometer. This project will provide new knowledge for improving applications of DPOAEs as a non-invasive tool for diagnosing hearing loss in humans and for studying cochlear mechanisms in experimental animals.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • M.D., 1979, Xian Medical University
    • M.S., 1983, Xian Medical University

  • Residency

    • 1984-1987 Xian Medical University, Xi’an, P.R. of China

  • Fellowship

    • 1990-1992 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Areas of interest

  • Cochlear mechanics
  • Otoacoustic emissions
  • Auditory physiology

Additional information

Publications

Selected publications

  • Ren, T., He, W. & Barr-Gillespie, P.G. Reverse transduction measured in the living cochlea by low-coherence heterodyne interferometry. Nat Commun 7, 10282, doi:10.1038/ncomms10282 (2016).
  • Ren, T., He, W. & Gillespie, P.G. Measurement of cochlear power gain in the sensitive gerbil ear. Nat Commun 2, 216, doi:10.1038/ncomms1226 (2011).
  • He, W., Fridberger, A., Porsov, E., Grosh, K. & Ren, T. Reverse wave propagation in the cochlea. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 105, 2729-2733 (2008).
  • Ren, T. Reverse propagation of sound in the gerbil cochlea. Nat Neurosci 7, 333-334, doi:10.1038/nn1216 (2004).
  • Ren, T. Longitudinal pattern of basilar membrane vibration in the sensitive cochlea. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 99, 17101-17106 (2002).

Publications