About

Robert Raphael is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University and serves as a Principal Investigator at the Rice University/Baylor College of Medicine Neuroengineering IGERT. His research applies engineering principles to understand the auditory system and develop strategies to combat hearing loss and deafness. His work involves basic research into the intricate workings of inner ear hair cells and the auditory nerve, aiming to bridge biophysical knowledge with the engineering of next-generation auditory implants. Raphael's lab has studied the structure and function of biological membranes for over two decades, focusing on their role in auditory physiology, including the function of membrane proteins like prestin and membrane transporters that establish ion gradients essential for hearing. He has developed biophysically-based computational models of ion transport in the inner ear and collaborates on projects involving genetically encoded voltage proteins and the development of innovative cochlear implants. Raphael's contributions extend to advancing neuroengineering at Rice through a significant NSF-funded grant, fostering new research directions and educational initiatives. His honors include an NSF CAREER Award, multiple Hamill Innovation Awards, and recognition for outstanding teaching and research, reflecting his commitment to advancing understanding and treatment of auditory system disorders.

Research topics

• Biology
• Immunology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Medicine
• Computer Science
• Pure mathematics
• Combinatorics
• Ecology
• Biochemistry
• Mathematics
• Pharmacology
• Internal medicine
• Veterinary medicine
• Agronomy

Selected publications

• Nonquantal transmission at the vestibular hair cell–calyx synapse: K _LV currents modulate fast electrical and slow K ⁺ potentials

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2023 · 41 citations

  • Neuroscience
  • Biophysics
  • Chemistry

  to the gain and phase of NQT. We further demonstrate that the magnitude and speed of NQT depend on calyx morphology and that increasing calyx height reduces action potential latency in the calyx afferent. These predictions are consistent with the idea that the calyx evolved to enhance NQT and speed up vestibular signals that drive neural circuits controlling gaze, balance, and orientation.

  DOI

• 155. Relationship between resistance to a <i>Pasteurella multocida</i> experimental infection and production traits in rabbits

  2022

  • Biology
  • Veterinary medicine
  • Medicine

  Nine hundred and fifty five rabbits were inoculated at 6 weeks of age with a pyogenic strain of Pasteurella multocida and were scored for resistance from 0 to 4 by taking into account post-mortem examinations. Fifty five sires having at least 10 inoculated offspring produced also 9,943 rabbits tested for health and growth and 1,468 females tested for reproduction in commercial farm conditions. Total number born and number born alive per litter were significantly lower in daughters of resistant sires (-0.27 and -0.41). Prevalence of digestive diseases and infectious diseases were significantly lower in the resistant growing rabbits than in the susceptible ones (-1.7 point and -3.0 points, respectively). This result suggests that resistance to pasteurellosis assessed by an experimental infection is favorably correlated to resistance to other infectious diseases.

  DOI

• Utilization of Thiopurine Metabolites and Allopurinol in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Consideration for an Algorithmic Approach

  Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology · 2021 · 5 citations

  • Medicine
  • Pharmacology
  • Immunology

  Persistently elevated absolute neutrophil counts during maintenance for acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a risk factor for relapse and may be related to wild-type thiopurine methyltransferase activity and overly efficient shunting of 6-mercaptopurine to hepatotoxic metabolites (6-methylmercaptopurine nucleotides), leading to low 6-thioguanine nucleotides. 6-mercaptopurine is also metabolized by xanthine oxidase, and therefore allopurinol, an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, allows for increased 6-thioguanine nucleotides and decreased 6-methylmercaptopurine nucleotide. Here, we report our experience with allopurinol for persistently elevated absolute neutrophil count or hepatotoxicity and suggest an algorithmic approach for checking thiopurine metabolites and initiating allopurinol in acute lymphoblastic leukemia maintenance.

  DOI

• Contractible simplicial objects

  Commentationes Mathematicae Universitatis Carolinae · 2020 · 1 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Mathematics
  • Artificial Intelligence

  We raise the question of when a simplicial object in a catetgory is deemed contractible. The literature offers three definitions. One is the existence of an ``extra degeneracy'', indexed by $-1$, which does not quite live up to the name. This can be strengthened to a ``strong extra degeneracy". Another possibility is that it be homotopic to a constant simplicial object. Despite claims in the literature to the contrary, we show that all three are distinct concepts with strong extra degeneracy implies extra degeneracy implies homotopic to a constant and give explicit examples to show the converses fail.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Bertrand Bed’Hom

  Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité

  5 shared

• Hervé Garreau

  Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement

  4 shared

• Mélanie Gunia

  4 shared

• Frédéric Lantier

  Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement

  4 shared

• Emmanuelle Helloin

  Université de Tours

  4 shared

• Édouard Guitton

  Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement

  3 shared

• Virginie Héliès

  3 shared

• Joseph C. Torkildson

  UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital

  2 shared

Awards & honors

• NSF CAREER Award (2005)
• Hamill Innovation Award, Institute of Biosciences and Bioeng…
• Faculty Teaching/Mentoring Award from the Rice Student Assoc…
• Charles W.. Duncan Jr. Achievement Award for Outstanding Fac…
• Collaborative Research Award, John S. Dunn Foundation (2018)

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