Meet Our Team

Ronna Hertzano, MD PhD - Principal Investigator
Dr. Hertzano is an otolaryngologist surgeon-scientist tenured Associate Professor at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Born in Israel, Dr. Hertzano received her M.D. and Ph.D degrees from the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. Her doctoral thesis, which was performed both at Tel Aviv University and at the National Institutes of Deafness and Communications Disorders (NIDCD/NIH) focused on elucidating the signaling pathway downstream of the deafness causing gene POU4F3 in the mouse inner ear. She then performed her residency training in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where she also established her research team.
Dr. Hertzano’s clinical practice focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the ear, with a specific emphasis on hearing restoration. As such, she sees and treats patients of all ages that suffer from hereditary and non-hereditary auditory and vestibular dysfunction. The goal of Dr. Hertzano’s research program is to make significant contributions towards the treatment of congenital and acquired auditory and vestibular dysfunction. Towards hearing restoration, she works to unravel the regulatory signaling cascades that lead to the proper development of the ear and specifically the hair cells. A second main interest is in developing therapeutics to prevent age and noise induced hearing loss. To facilitate dissemination, sharing and analysis of multi-omic data Dr. Hertzano developed the gEAR portal – gene Expression Analysis Resource (umgear.org). Finally, Dr. Hertzano has a strong interest in mentorship. Her diverse team consists of undergraduates, medical students, residents, audiologists, graduate students, and post docs.
Dr. Hertzano is the recipient of several awards including the Burt Evans Young Investigator Award, from the National Organization of Hearing Research; Brian E. Emery, M.D., Outstanding Teaching Award, UMSOM; and Distinction Award in Alternative/Basic Science for the Triological Society Thesis. Dr. Hertzano is chair of the American Neurotology Society research committee; core faculty of the University of Maryland College Park Center for Comparative and Evolutionary Biology of Hearing T32 grant; a member of the Hearing Restoration Program of the Hearing Health Foundation, and an organizing committee member of the HEAR@JAX workshop of the Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine. In her free time, Dr. Hertzano enjoys running, cycling, and playing Rummikub.

Beatrice Milon, PhD - Research Supervisor

Mark McMurray, BS - Research Technician

Elena Chrysostomou, PhD - Postdoctoral Fellow

Katie Gwilliam, BS - Fourth Year PhD Student

Kevin Rose, BS - Third Year PhD Student

Benjamin Shuster, BS - Research Fellow

Erika Lipford, MS - Research Fellow

Lawrance Lee, BA - Fourth Year Medical Student

Kennedy McDaniel, BS - Master's Student

Chris Shults, MS - PhD Rotation Student
Chris is a first year PhD student in the Molecular Medicine program. He recently graduated from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health with a master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. He received his bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biology from Tennessee Tech University. Before completing his master’s degree, he served as a high school science teacher in Baltimore City. Chris is excited to continue his education at UMB studying the molecular mechanisms contributing to hearing loss during his first rotation in the Hertzano Lab. He is an avid tennis player and always enjoys finding new restaurants Baltimore has to offer.

Yang Song, PhD - Lead Bioinformatician

Joshua Orvis, MS - Lead Bioinformatics Software Engineer
Lab Alumni

Maggie Matern, PhD – PhD Student, 2014 – 2019
Current Position – Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford University

Sunayana Mitra, PhD – Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2016 – 2017
Current Position – Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Michigan State University

Yoko Ogawa, PhD – Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2015 – 2016

Manoj Racherla, MD – Research Assistant, 2011 – 2013
Current Position – Physician of Internal Medicine at University of Maryland Medical Center

Manan Shah, MD – Research Assistant
Current Position – ENT Physician at the Advanced ENT & Allergy Center in Colorado

Laura Morrison, DO – Research Assistant, 2014
Current Position – DO at Holtz Children’s Hospital in Florida

Nikhil Paladugu – Research volunteer, 2017

Danisha Gallop – Research Assistant, 2014
Current Position – Research Assistant at University of Maryland, Baltimore

Zachary Margulies, BSc – Research Assistant, 2014

Lorna Silipino, BSc – Research Assistant, 2011 – 2015
Current Position – Research Staff at the Frederick National Laboratory

Mallory Highstein, MD – Resident Researcher, 2020
Current Position – ENT Resident at University of Maryland Department of Otorhinolaryngology

Ryan Casserly, MD – Resident Researcher, 2017
Current Position – Otology and Neurotology Physician at Otologic Medicine & Surgery at Christiana Care Health System in Delaware

Andrew Tkaczuk, MD – Resident Researcher, 2016
Current Position – Laryngologist and Assistant Professor at Emory School of Medicine

Katherine Perry, MD – Resident Researcher, 2013
Current Position – Otolaryngologist at Chesapeake Otolaryngology Association in Maryland

Gavin Gassen, MD – Resident Researcher, 2009
Current Position – Otolaryngologist and Assistant Professor at Tulane University School of Medicine

Kelly Finck, AuD – Student Researcher, 2017 – 2018
Current Position – Audiologist at Hearing Assessment Center, LLC in Maryland
Summer Students and Volunteers
Ashley Barnes, Summer Student 2013
Andrew Biedlingmaier, MD
Alok Shetty, Summer of 2017
Alexis Mears, Summers of 2018 and 2019
Sindhu Murugan, Summer of 2019
Katherine Williams, MD, Summer of 2013
Graham Trent, MD, Summer of 2015
Virginia Drake, MD, 2014
Christopher Toth, PA, 2014 – 2015
Allen Myers, Summer 2014 and Fall 2016 to Summer 2018
Tomer Lagziel, BSc
Lauren Chessum, PhD, 2017