Karen Penelope Steel FRS FMedSci is a British scientist who studies the genetics of deafness, using the mouse as a model to identify the genes involved and to understand the molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms involved. She is Professor of Sensory Function at the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London. Previously she was Principal Investigator of the Genetics of Deafness research programme at the

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute The Wellcome Sanger Institute, previously known as The Sanger Centre and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, is a non-profit British genomics and genetics research institute, primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust. It is located on the Wellcome G ...

. She had a leading role in the collaboration that uncovered

Myo7a Myosin VIIA is protein that in humans is encoded by the ''MYO7A'' gene. Myosin VIIA is a member of the unconventional myosin superfamily of proteins. Myosins are actin binding molecular motors that use the enzymatic conversion of ATP - ADP + inor ...

, the first gene to be implicated in deafness in mice and in humans. Most recently, she led the discovery of

Mir-96 microRNA __NOTOC__ miR-96 microRNA precursor is a small non-coding RNA that regulates gene expression. microRNAs are transcribed as ~80 nucleotide precursors and subsequently processed by the Dicer enzyme to give a ~23 nucleotide products. In this case the ...

that is implicated in progressive hearing loss in mice and humans. Together with Professor Christine Petit, Steel won the Royal Society Brain Prize 2012, for pioneering work on the genetics of hearing and deafness.

Early life

In her early academic years, Steel was originally interested in studying English. Her first exposure to biology, and also what solidified her biological science career path, was in sixth grade. Steel had the opportunity to hear Dorothy Hodgkin speak at Bristol University about insulin, marking her first time encountering a woman in science. This experience greatly influenced her interest in studying genetics.

Education

Steel obtained her first degree from

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. She then received her PhD from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

for her investigatory work into the inner ear in several deaf mouse mutants. She set up the mouse genetics and deafness research programme at the newly established MRC Institute of Hearing Research in Nottingham. Following a second postdoc in Munich, she returned to Nottingham to lead mouse genetics research.

Research

Steel studies the genetics behind deafness, mainly focusing on the genetics of mice in order to identify the genes involved as well as to further understand the molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms involved with being deaf. This led to Steel developing a screening technique, a triaging process, that allowed for the characterization of mutant mice that have hearing and imbalance issues. This led to ability to find and characterize the specific genes involved in these issues, with these issues being caused by altered hair cells or auditory parts. Steel's mouse genetic project also involved knocking out various genes not extensively studied and observing whether these genes are essential or nonessential in the mouse hearing. Steel and her research group have published phenotypic descriptions of over 80 different mouse mutants. Currently, her research is focused on the progressive loss of auditory functions in which she uses the mouse models to diagram the timeline of auditory loss in humans. She also looks for specific mutated genes that are known to contribute and lead to hearing loss, allowing her to target genes that could be potentially targeted in treatments for progressive hearing loss. As of 2014, Steel and her team has found genes involved in progressive hearing loss and has moved forward in identifying the various pathways that these genes are a part of.

Awards and honours

* Recipient of the Kresge-Mirmelstein prize for excellence in hearing research,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 1998 * Elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, London, 2004 * Elected Council member of Association for Research in Otolaryngology (2004-2008) * Elected President of

International Mammalian Genome Society The International Mammalian Genome Society (IMGS) is a professional scientific organization that promotes and coordinates the genetic and genomic study of mammals. It has a scientific journal, ''Mammalian Genome'', and organizes an annual interna ...

(2007-2012) * Edith Whetnall lecturer, Section of Otology of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chamber ...

, London, 2008 * Elected

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

, London, 2009 *

Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Prize The Brain Prize, formerly known as The Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Prize, is an international scientific award honouring "one or more scientists who have distinguished themselves by an outstanding contribution to neuroscience and who are ...

, 2012 * Award of Merit, Association for Research in

Otolaryngology Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...

, to be presented in Baltimore, Feb 2013 The asteroid 24734 Kareness was named after Steel by its discoverer, Steel's brother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steel, Karen Living people Alumni of University College London Alumni of the University of Leeds Academics of King's College London British geneticists Female Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society Year of birth missing (living people)