Connor Ludwig
Connor is a synthetic and systems biologist working at the intersection of functional genomics, human genetics, and precision therapeutics. At Octant, his work has focused on developing and applying high-throughput experimental approaches to understand how genetic variation affects disease biology and therapeutic response, with a particular focus on rhodopsin-associated retinitis pigmentosa. His work spans deep mutational scanning, variant interpretation, and the translation of functional genomic data into therapeutic and clinical insights.
Before joining Octant, Connor completed his PhD in Bioengineering at Stanford University in the lab of Dr. Lacramioara Bintu. His doctoral research used high-throughput functional genomics and synthetic biology to study mammalian gene regulation, including the large-scale discovery and characterization of viral proteins that modulate transcription in human cells.
Outside of Octant, Connor enjoys swimming, cycling, running, playing pickleball, making music, drawing, painting, and playing board games.
Papers
A comprehensive map of missense trafficking variants in rhodopsin and their response to pharmacologic correction. Manian KV*, Ludwig CH*, Zhao Y, Abell NS, Warneford-Thomson R, Chan H, Casey ZO, Yang X, Root DE, Albert ML, Comander J (2026). Science Advances.
High-throughput discovery and characterization of viral transcriptional effectors in human cells. Ludwig CH, Thurm AR, Morgens DW, Yang KJ, Tycko J, Bassik MC, Glaunsinger BA, Bintu L (2023). Cell Systems.
Dynamic spreading of chromatin-mediated gene silencing and reactivation between neighboring genes in single cells. Lensch S, Herschl MH, Ludwig CH, Sinha J, Hinks MM, Fujimori T, Bintu L. (2022). eLife.
CRISPR interference-based platform for multimodal genetic screens in human iPSC-derived neurons. Tian R*, Gachechiladze MA*, Ludwig CH*, Laurie MT, Hong JY, Nathaniel D, Prabhu AV, Fernandopulle MS, Patel R, Abshari M, Ward ME, Kampmann M (2019). Neuron.