Constance L. Cepko

About

Constance L. Cepko is the Bullard Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on the mechanisms that direct development and degeneration of the central nervous system (CNS) of vertebrates, with a particular emphasis on the vertebrate retina. Her work involves using genomics approaches and in situ hybridization to characterize genes with dynamic temporal patterns, aiming to identify candidates involved in cell fate determination. She studies how the retina utilizes a large repertoire of genes to form a complex tissue with over 60 neuronal cell types, especially focusing on the diversification of interneurons that are critical elements in retinal circuitry. Her research includes lineage studies where individual progenitor cells are marked in vivo to analyze the types of neurons produced and their connections within retinal circuits. She has developed novel viral vectors capable of moving transsynaptically in vivo, which can be modified to transmit retrogradely or anterogradely, and used to transduce genes encoding fluorescent proteins, ion channels, or calcium indicators. These tools are applied to understand retinal circuitry and neuronal transmission. Additionally, her lab has developed electroporation methods and plasmids for rapid gene function assessment, as well as studies on gene regulatory sequences and their control mechanisms. Cepko's work also investigates the mechanisms leading to photoreceptor cell death in inherited…

Research topics

• Genetics
• Biology
• Virology
• Molecular biology
• Chemistry
• Medicine
• Chromatography
• Computational biology

Selected publications

• SARS-CoV-2 detection using isothermal amplification and a rapid, inexpensive protocol for sample inactivation and purification

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2020 · 295 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has had an enormous impact on society worldwide, threatening the lives and livelihoods of many. The effects will continue to grow and worsen if economies begin to open without the proper precautions, including expanded diagnostic capabilities. To address this need for increased testing, we have developed a sensitive reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay compatible with current…

  DOI

• Optimizing Nervous System-Specific Gene Targeting with Cre Driver Lines: Prevalence of Germline Recombination and Influencing Factors

  Neuron · 2020 · 196 citations

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Characterization of the development of the high-acuity area of the chick retina

  Developmental Biology · 2024-03-26 · 11 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• RPE-specific MCT2 expression promotes cone survival in models of retinitis pigmentosa

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-04-03 · 8 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the most common cause of inherited retinal degeneration worldwide. It is characterized by the sequential death of rod and cone photoreceptors, the cells responsible for night and daylight vision, respectively. Although the expression of most RP genes occurs only in rods, there is a secondary degeneration of cones. One possible mechanism of cone death is metabolic dysregulation. Photoreceptors are highly metabolically active, consuming large quantities of glucose and…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• ERG responses to high-frequency flickers require FAT3 signaling in mouse retinal bipolar cells

  The Journal of General Physiology · 2025-02-04 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  Vision is initiated by the reception of light by photoreceptors and subsequent processing via downstream retinal neurons. Proper circuit organization depends on the multifunctional tissue polarity protein FAT3, which is required for amacrine cell connectivity and retinal lamination. Here, we investigated the retinal function of Fat3 mutant mice and found decreases in both electroretinography and perceptual responses to high-frequency flashes. These defects did not correlate with abnormal amacrin…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01EY023291

  NIH · $1.3M · 2017

• NIH Grant R01NS023021

  NIH · $1.7M · 1994

• Research Training in Visual Neuroscience

  NIH · $6.9M · 1988–2025

Frequent coauthors

• Sean K. Wang

  New York University Shanghai

  106 shared

• Yunlu Xue

  Harvard University

  93 shared

• Jeffrey M. Trimarchi

  Emmune (United States)

  60 shared

• Emma R. West

  Boston VA Research Institute

  54 shared

• Kevin T. Beier

  University of California, Irvine

  51 shared

• David M. Wu

  Harvard University

  48 shared

• Takahisa Furukawa

  Osaka University

  43 shared

• Sylvain W. Lapan

  Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

  43 shared

Labs

• Cepko LabPI

  Department of Genetics

Education

• Ph.D., Neuroscience

  Harvard University

  1991

• B.S., Biology

  University of California, San Diego

  1985

Similar researchers at Harvard University

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• Xandra Breakefieldh-141
• Junying Yuanh-133