Dr. Constance Cepko

Biography

Constance Cepko is the Bullard Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She has extensive training in virology from her Ph.D. at MIT under Phil Sharp and Richard Mulligan at the Whitehead Institute. Her research primarily focuses on cell fate determination in the retina and the mechanisms causing photoreceptor cell death in eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. The Cepko Lab investigates how retinal degeneration occurs and seeks to develop gene therapies to prevent cell death and subsequent vision loss. Her lab employs advanced genomic approaches to examine gene expression over time and has identified candidate genes that regulate crucial processes in cell fate decisions during development. Cepko's work includes developing new technologies for genetic perturbation using nanobodies and creating viral vectors for therapeutic interventions to prolong photoreceptor survival. She is dedicated to understanding underlying gene regulatory networks influencing retinal progenitor fates and developing strategies that harness these insights for innovative gene therapy solutions for blindness.

Research Interests

Experience