Joseph Corbo, MD, PhD

A major effort of Corbo lab is directed toward understanding the transcriptional regulatory networks that orchestrate the development and function of photoreceptors. They are employing a wide range of experimental and computational techniques to decipher these networks. Recently, they generated comprehensive maps of rod- and cone-specific open chromatin using ATAC-seq and have leveraged these maps to elucidate the differences in cis-regulatory grammar between these two cell types. They are now using a massively parallel reporter assay called CRE-seq to further interrogate the architecture of photoreceptor cis-regulatory elements. Our ultimate goal is to create a complete, quantitative model of photoreceptor transcriptional regulation including a detailed cis-regulatory grammar. This model will serve as a template for translating between both coding and non-coding variants and the complex cellular phenotypes of photoreceptors that result in blindness.