Distinguished Speaker Series | Joseph C. Corbo, MD, PhD

We are poised on the threshold of a new era in medicine in which whole-genome sequencing will be a clinical reality. One of our lab’s major goals is to leverage this revolution in sequencing technology to predict and prevent disease. Up to now, our approach has been to elucidate the architecture of the transcriptional networks of the retina, with a particular focus on photoreceptors. We utilize this knowledge to build new technologies for mapping genotype onto phenotype and to devise cellular reprogramming strategies and optogenetic approaches to treat retinal disease. These translational strategies for retinal disease are complemented by other studies in the lab that focus on the basic biology of photoreceptors. Our research is strongly interdisciplinary and collaborative, with current projects that lie at the intersection of photoreceptor biology with chemistry and physics. By combining both basic and translational approaches, our lab aims to achieve a systems-level understanding of the development, diseases, function, evolution, and diversity of photoreceptors, and to extend this approach to other organ systems.