Constance L. Cepko

Constance L. Cepko serves as the Bullard Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School, where she leads an active research laboratory focused on the mechanisms of central nervous system development and degeneration, with particular emphasis on the vertebrate retina. Her laboratory is housed in the New Research Building at 7 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA.

Dr. Cepko's research interests span multiple areas of developmental neuroscience and genetic approaches to neural circuit mapping. Her laboratory pioneered the use of transsynaptic viral tracers based on vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), which can travel between synaptically connected cells in multiple organisms including mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians. These vectors can be engineered for anterograde or retrograde transmission and to cross specific numbers of synapses, enabling detailed neural circuit mapping.

Her laboratory also developed innovative GFP-dependent biological activity systems (T-DDOG and Cre-DOG) that allow manipulation of gene expression and neural circuit activity specifically in GFP-expressing cells. Additionally, they have refined in vivo electroporation techniques for simultaneous delivery of multiple plasmids to study gene function and regulatory elements in retinal development.

• Research on retinal development focuses on the heterogeneity of retinal progenitor cells and mechanisms directing cell fate determination
• Studies of photoreceptor development examine rod versus cone specification and retinal patterning
• Gene therapy research investigates approaches to prevent photoreceptor death in retinal degeneration diseases

Dr. Cepko's laboratory maintains active collaborations and has made significant contributions to understanding the gene regulatory networks controlling retinal cell fate decisions, particularly the Otx2-dependent network that determines rod versus bipolar cell fates. Her work has important implications for developing therapies for retinal degenerative diseases like retinitis pigmentosa.