Richard Smith

Richard Smith is Director the Molecular Otolaryngology and Renal Research Laboratories (MORL) and a world leader in the human genetics of hearing loss, with over 470 peer-reviewed publications. The MORL has Clinical Diagnostics and Basic Research Divisions.

The Clinical Diagnostics Division is staffed by ten research assistants. It was CLIA certified in 1999 and accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in 2001, and is recertified very two years, most recently in 2013. Mutation screening is offered for deafness. This type of molecular diagnostic service has changed the clinical evaluation of the deaf person. The MORL is also a world leader in applying massively parallel sequencing methods to deafness and translating this technology to the clinical arena.

The Basic Research Division of the MORL has made many significant contributions to our understanding of the biology of hearing/deafness. At the current time, five graduate students, five post-graduate students and one research scientist are doing research here. In the area of hearing/deafness, scientists in the MORL have mapped 19% of all known non-syndromic hearing loss loci and cloned 22% of all genes implicated in deafness; for many of these genes, they have also completed functional studies. This research has been continuously supported by the NIH for the past 20 years. As a reflection of these accomplishments, Smith has been elected to the National Academies, Institute of Medicine and the Association of American Physicians. He has also received numerous other honors.