“…This is followed by a group of six papers that utilized in vitro techniques to examine stem cell growth characteristics, migratory behavior, potential for therapeutic application, and isolation of new stem cells from human inner ear tissue: that is, “Building an artificial stem cell niche: prerequisites for future 3‐D‐formation of inner ear structures toward 3D inner ear biotechnology,” (De Groot et al, ); “Imaging bioluminescent exogenous stem cells in intact guinea pig cochlea,” (Schomann et al, ); “The effect of Matrigel on a human neural progenitor dissociated sphere culture,” (Kaiser et al, ); “Isolation and characterization of mammalian otic stem cells that can differentiate into both sensory and neuronal lineages,” (Kojima et al, ); “Progenitor cells from the human inner ear,” (Senn et al, ); and “Evaluation of cilia function in rat trachea reconstructed using collagen sponge scaffold seeded with adipose tissue‐derived stem cells” (Nakamura et al, ). This series of in vitro studies is followed by a group of five papers that probe the behavior of stem cells in vivo , looking at their ability to treat hearing loss and ultrastructural character of stem cell‐initiated hair cell regeneration: that is, “Bone marrow stromal cells accelerate hearing recovery via regeneration or maintenance of cochlear fibrocytes in mouse spiral ligaments,” (Kada et al, ); “Effect of bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells on cochlear function in an experimental rat model,” (Mittal et al, ); “Transplantation and tracking of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells labeled with SPIO in deaf pigs,” (Xu et al, ); “Ultrastructural characterization of stem cell‐derived replacement vestibular hair cells within ototoxin‐damaged rat utricle explants,” (Werner et al, ); and “Recent advancements in gene and stem cell‐based treatment modalities: potential applications in noise‐induced hearing loss” (Eshraghi et al, ). The next group of papers looks at three genetic studies in the lab utilizing zebrafish models to examine both gene expression and gene editing, along with a gene vector delivery safety study in mice and then pair of human clinical studies that probe impact of genetic hearing disorders: that is, “Transcriptosomic analyses of inner ear sensory epithelia in zebrafish,” (Yao et al ., ); “Zebrafish model for non‐syndromic x‐linked deafness, DFNX1 ,” (De Smidt et al, ); “The generation of zebrafish Mariner model using the CRISPR/Cas9 system,” (Zou et al, ); “Hearing preservation following repeated adenovector delivery,” (Pfannensteil et al, ); “Congenital middle ear malformation with common deafness gene mutational analysis: a review of 813 profound sensorineural hearing loss child patients,” (Dong et al, ); and “Relationships between type of patients’ genetic deafness and their cochlear implant performance levels” (Usami et al ., ).…”