Dr. Brian C. Capell, M.D., Ph.D. is a physician-scientist and Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Genetics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is nationally recognized for his pioneering research at the intersection of epigenetics, epithelial biology, and cancer, with a particular focus on uncovering chromatin-based mechanisms that drive skin development, inflammation, and carcinogenesis.

Dr. Capell received his B.S. from Boston College and completed his M.D./Ph.D. training at NYU School of Medicine, where he did his graduate work in the laboratory of Dr. Francis Collins at the NIH and studied Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS). His research contributed directly to the development of farnesyltransferase inhibitors, the first FDA-approved targeted therapy approved for this rare but deadly premature aging disorder.

He completed his dermatology residency at Penn, where he entered the physician-scientist track and conducted postdoctoral research with world-renowned epigeneticist Dr. Shelley Berger. In 2017, he was appointed to the faculty at Penn, where he launched his independent lab focused on chromatin modifiers such as MLL4, UTX, LSD1, and the roles of enhancer regulation, lipid metabolism and ferroptosis, and retinoid-immune crosstalk in epithelial homeostasis and cancer.

Dr. Capell has published extensively in top journals, including Nature, Developmental Cell, JCI, PNAS, Cell Stem Cell, Genes & Development, and Science Advances. His lab has been continuously supported by the NIH and numerous foundations. He was a recipient of the Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award, the American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award, the Stiefel Award of the Dermatology Foundation, the Young Investigator of the Year Award from the American Academy of Dermatology, as well as the ASCI Young Physician-Scientist Award.

In addition to leading a vibrant research program, Dr. Capell is an active mentor and collaborator, deeply committed to advancing translational science that bridges basic epigenetics and clinical dermatology to improve patient care.