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The Cepko Lab

The mechanisms that cells use when they choose their fate during development of the central nervous system is the main problem under study in our lab. We have focussed our studies on the retina, a tractable model for the rest of the central nervous system. In addition, we are interested in why photoreceptor cells die in the many forms of retinal degeneration, and are developing a gene therapy that prevents their death and the subsequent loss of vision. We also enjoy developing new technologies that enable these studies as well as others.

Retinal Development

The mechanisms that cells use when they choose their fate during the development of the central nervous system is the main problem under study in our lab

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Gene therapy to preserve vision

There are >500 human disease genes that lead to the loss of vision, with many of them directly affecting the photoreceptors. We are developing a generic gene therapy that can prolong the survival and function of photoreceptors in retinitis pigmentosa, with the hope that this approach will be independent of the type of disease gene.

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Development of Tools


We are developing methods that allow one to use GFP to manipulate biological activities in vivo, leveraging the expression patterns of GFP in the large number of strains of transgenic mice and zebrafish. We are also developing vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) as a transsynaptic tracer, to map circuits across a wide spectrum of animal models.

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