Brian Capell, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Dermatology
Perelman School of Medicine
About the Lab:
Research of the newly established Capell lab focuses on answering fundamental questions regarding the epigenome and chromatin regulatory enzymes in the skin, including how they are altered by intrinsic (i.e. aging) and extrinsic (i.e. ultraviolet radiation) environmental influences, and how these changes ultimately contribute to skin disease, and in particular, cancer. Dr. Capell was a previous recipient of training under this program in the laboratory of Dr. Shelley Berger, a pioneer in the field of epigenetics and chromatin biology. His current work is focused on the following: 1) defining the role of the master enhancer regulators, and two of the most frequently mutated genes in all of cancer, KMT2C (MLL3) and KMT2D (MLL4), in the skin; and 2) understanding how enhancer and epigenetic and regulatory element dysfunction may play a role in the promotion of carcinogenesis.
Training Information:
Dr.Capell is a former Derm T32 Trainee! Even though he is a newly appointed faculty member, Dr. Capell has already demonstrated his commitment and success at mentoring the next generation of dermatological researchers. This includes training two postdoctoral fellows, three PhD graduate students, and many undergraduate, rotation and medical students. His current predoctoral trainees are recipients of NIH F awards, while a former postdoctoral trainee is now the lead bioinformatician at an academic institution in France.
