Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences

Moser, Tobias, Prof. Dr.

Professor of Auditory Neuroscience


  • 1995 M.D. University of Jena
  • 1994 - 1997 Postdoc with E. Neher at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry
  • 1997-2001 Junior Group Leader at the at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen
  • since 2001 Leader of the InnerEarLab and Clinical Work at the Department of Otolaryngology, University Medical Center Göttingen
  • Director of the Institute for Auditory Neuroscience, University Medical Center Göttingen and group leader at the MPIs for Experimental Medicine and Biophysical Chemistry and the German Primate Center



Major Research Interests

Auditory Neuroscience - Synaptic Physiology and Pathophysiology - Audiology and Neuroprosthetics

Our work focuses on the molecular anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of sound encoding and information processing in the auditory system as well as the restoration of hearing by gene replacement therapy and optogenetic stimulation. We combine various techniques to characterize synapses of hair cells and the auditory brainstem from the molecular to the systems level. This way we have contributed to the understanding of structure and function of auditory synapses and initiated the concept of auditory synaptopathy. Towards restoration of hearing we aim to establish virus-mediated gene replacement therapy of auditory synaptopathy and pursue the optogenetic stimulation of auditory nerve for improving the performance of the cochlear implant.


Homepage Department/Research Group

http://www.auditory-neuroscience.uni-goettingen.de/

http://www.innerearlab.uni-goettingen.de/

https://www.dpz.eu/de/abteilung/auditorische-neurowissenschaften-und-optogenetik/ueber-uns.html

https://www.mpinat.mpg.de/moser

https://mbexc.de/

http://www.sfb889.uni-goettingen.de/



Selected Recent Publications


  • Bali B, Lopez de la Morena D, Mittring A, Mager T, Rankovic V, Huet AT, Moser T (2021) Utility of red-light ultrafast optogenetic stimulation of the auditory pathway. EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2021 May 7th;e13391, https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.202013391
  • Özçete ÖD, Moser T (2020) A sensory cell diversifies its output by varying Ca2+ influx-release coupling among active zones. EMBO J, 2020 December 21st; e106010. doi: 10.15252/embj.2020106010
  • Keppeler D, Schwaerzle M, Harczos T, Jablonski L, Dieter A, Wolf B, Ayub S, Vogl C, Wrobel C, Hoch G, Abdellatif K, Jeschke M, Rankovic V, Paul O, Ruther P, Moser T (2020) Multichannel optogenetic stimulation of the auditory pathway using microfabricated LED cochlear implants in rodents. Sci Translat Med Vol 12(553): eabb8086
  • Dieter A, Klein E, Keppeler D, Jablonski L, Harczos T, Hoch G, Rankovic V, Paul O, Jeschke M, Ruther P, Moser T (2020) μLED-based optical cochlear implants for spectrally selective activation of the auditory nerve. EMBO Molecular Medicine, Jun 29;e12387. doi: 10.15252
  • Jean P, Anttonen T, Michanski S, de Diego A, Steyer AM, Neef A, Oestreicher D, Kroll J, Nardis C, Pangršič T, Möbius W, Ashmore J, Wichmann C, Moser T (2020) Macromolecular and electrical coupling between inner hair cells in the rodent cochlea. Nat Commun 11: 3208
  • Dieter A, Duque-Afonso CJ, Rankovic V, Jeschke M, Moser T (2019) Near physiological spectral selectivity of cochlear optogenetics. Nature Communications. 10, 1962
  • Jean P, Demet Özçete Ö, Tarchini B, Moser T (2019) Intrinsic planar polarity mechanisms influence the position-dependent regulation of synapse properties in inner hair cells. PNAS pii: 201818358
  • Neef J, Ohn TL, Urban NT, Frank T, Jean P, Hell SW, Willig KI, Moser T (2018) Quantitative optical nanophysiology of Ca2+-signaling at inner hair cell active zones. Nat commun, 18;9(1):290. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02612-y.
  • Mager T, Lopez de la Morena D, Senn V4,5, Schlotte J, D Errico A, Feldbauer K, Wrobel C, Jung S, Bodensiek K, Rankovic V, Browne L, Huet A, Jüttner J1, Wood PG, Letzkus JJ, Moser T, Bamberg E (2018) High frequency neural spiking and auditory signaling by ultrafast red-shifted optogenetics. Nat Commun. 2018 May 1;9(1):1750. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04146-3.
  • Wrobel C, Dieter A, Huet A, Keppeler D, Duque-Afonso C, Vogl C, Hoch G, Jeschke M, Moser T (2018) Optogenetic stimulation of cochlear neurons activates the auditory pathway and restores auditory-driven behavior in deaf adult gerbils. Sci Translat Med 11 Jul 2018: Vol. 10, Issue 449, eaao0540. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aao0540
  • Picher MM, Gehrt A, Meese S, Ivanovic A, Predoehl F, Jung SY. Schrauwen I, Dragonettik AG, Colombo R, Van Camp V, Strenzke N, Moser T (2017) Ca2+-binding protein 2 inhibits Ca2+ channel inactivation in mouse inner hair cells. PNAS, 114: E1717-E1726
  • Ohn TZ, Rutherford MA, Jing Z, Jung SY, Duque-Afonso CJ, Hoch G, Picher MM, Scharinger A, Strenzke N, Moser T (2016) Hair cells employ active zones with different voltage-dependence of Ca2+-influx to decompose sounds into complementary neural codes. PNAS, 113(32):E4716-25.