# Bernd Fritzsch

Bernd Fritzsch (born May 1, 1948) is a German–American neurobiologist, professor emeritus, and former chair of the department of Biology at University of Iowa. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is known for his research in comparative molecular neuroembryology, particularly in discovering the molecular evolution and development of sensory cells within the inner ear, including auditory hair cells and neurons. His research identifies developmental stages that could facilitate the restoration of hearing abilities.
Fritzsch's investigations cover the molecular intricacies behind the development of various auditory structures, such as the cochlear and vestibular organs, spiral and vestibular ganglion neurons, and the cochlear and vestibular nuclei in the hindbrain.

## Early life and education

Fritzsch was born in Weiterstadt near Darmstadt, Germany.
In 1978, he obtained his PhD in biology from the Technical University of Darmstadt.
He joined as the assistant dean for research and director for Basic Research at Creighton University.

## Academic and professional career

Fritzsch joined as an assistant professor at the University of Bielefeld and TU Darmstadt in Germany.
Transitioning to the United States, Fritzsch joined the University of Iowa, where he served as a professor emeritus for over 35 years. He made contributions in understanding ear development, its evolutionary processes, and its connections to the brainstem.
Fritzsch was also appointed as the director of the Aging Mind and Brain Initiative at the University of Iowa.
Fritzsch was later named as the chair of the Department of Biology at the University of Iowa.

## Research contributions

Fritzsch's early research contributed to understanding the development and evolution of ear development and eye muscle innervation. Collaborations with experts in lamprey species of fish shed light on innervation patterns in their ocular muscles compared to other vertebrates. A milestone in his research involved creating the Wnt1 Zero-Mouse, a model demonstrating the dependence of oculomotoric and trochlear motoneurons on Wnt1 and Fgf8 proteins for normal development. Additionally, Fritzsch's investigations into human kinesins revealed mutations leading to mis-innervations and functional limitations in ocular muscles. According to Google Scholar, his h-index is 90.

## Honors

* Collegiate Fellow, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Iowa.
* Member, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.
* Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
* Recipient of Outstanding Mentor Award and the Distinguished Research Career Award.

## Selected publications

* Gu, Chenghua; Rodriguez, E. Rene; Reimert, Dorothy V.; Shu, Tianzhi; Fritzsch, Bernd; Richards, Linda J.; Kolodkin, Alex L.; Ginty, David D. (2003). "Neuropilin-1 conveys semaphorin and VEGF signaling during neural and cardiovascular development". Developmental Cell. 5 (1): 45–57. doi:10.1016/s1534-5807(03)00169-2. ISSN 1534-5807. PMC 3918747. PMID 12852851.
* Smith, Jeramiah J.; Kuraku, Shigehiro; Holt, Carson; Sauka-Spengler, Tatjana; Jiang, Ning; Campbell, Michael S.; Yandell, Mark D.; Manousaki, Tereza; Meyer, Axel; Bloom, Ona E.; Morgan, Jennifer R.; Buxbaum, Joseph D.; Sachidanandam, Ravi; Sims, Carrie; Garruss, Alexander S. (2013). "Sequencing of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) genome provides insights into vertebrate evolution". Nature Genetics. 45 (4): 415–421, 421e1–2. doi:10.1038/ng.2568. ISSN 1546-1718. PMC 3709584. PMID 23435085.
* Rubel, Edwin W.; Fritzsch, Bernd (2002). "Auditory system development: primary auditory neurons and their targets". Annual Review of Neuroscience. 25: 51–101. doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.25.112701.142849. ISSN 0147-006X. PMID 12052904.
* Matei, V.; Pauley, S.; Kaing, S.; Rowitch, D.; Beisel, K. W.; Morris, K.; Feng, F.; Jones, K.; Lee, J.; Fritzsch, B. (2005). "Smaller inner ear sensory epithelia in Neurog 1 null mice are related to earlier hair cell cycle exit". Developmental Dynamics. 234 (3): 633–650. doi:10.1002/dvdy.20551. ISSN 1058-8388. PMC 1343505. PMID 16145671.
* Dabdoub, Alain; Puligilla, Chandrakala; Jones, Jennifer M.; Fritzsch, Bernd; Cheah, Kathryn S. E.; Pevny, Larysa H.; Kelley, Matthew W. (2008-11-25). "Sox2 signaling in prosensory domain specification and subsequent hair cell differentiation in the developing cochlea". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (47): 18396–18401. Bibcode:2008PNAS..10518396D. doi:10.1073/pnas.0808175105. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2587543. PMID 19011097.
* Kim, W. Y.; Fritzsch, B.; Serls, A.; Bakel, L. A.; Huang, E. J.; Reichardt, L. F.; Barth, D. S.; Lee, J. E. (2001). "NeuroD-null mice are deaf due to a severe loss of the inner ear sensory neurons during development". Development. 128 (3): 417–426. doi:10.1242/dev.128.3.417. ISSN 0950-1991. PMC 2710102. PMID 11152640.
* Lee, S. M.; Danielian, P. S.; Fritzsch, B.; McMahon, A. P. (1997). "Evidence that FGF8 signalling from the midbrain-hindbrain junction regulates growth and polarity in the developing midbrain". Development. 124 (5): 959–969. doi:10.1242/dev.124.5.959. ISSN 0950-1991. PMID 9056772.
* Bermingham, N. A.; Hassan, B. A.; Wang, V. Y.; Fernandez, M.; Banfi, S.; Bellen, H. J.; Fritzsch, B.; Zoghbi, H. Y. (2001). "Proprioceptor pathway development is dependent on Math1". Neuron. 30 (2): 411–422. doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(01)00305-1. ISSN 0896-6273. PMID 11395003.
* Fariñas, I.; Jones, K. R.; Tessarollo, L.; Vigers, A. J.; Huang, E.; Kirstein, M.; de Caprona, D. C.; Coppola, V.; Backus, C.; Reichardt, L. F.; Fritzsch, B. (2001-08-15). "Spatial shaping of cochlear innervation by temporally regulated neurotrophin expression". The Journal of Neuroscience. 21 (16): 6170–6180. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.21-16-06170.2001. ISSN 1529-2401. PMC 2710117. PMID 11487640.
* Ma, Q.; Anderson, D. J.; Fritzsch, B. (2000). "Neurogenin 1 null mutant ears develop fewer, morphologically normal hair cells in smaller sensory epithelia devoid of innervation". Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology: JARO. 1 (2): 129–143. doi:10.1007/s101620010017. ISSN 1525-3961. PMC 2504536. PMID 11545141.