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Penn dermatologist receives award for skin cancer research
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Brian C. Capell, MD, PhD, received a Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award.
Capell will use the $450,000 research grant to study epigenetic targets in the skin in hopes of developing effective therapies for squamous cell carcinoma.
Capell is assistant professor of dermatology at Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania. He also is a core faculty member of the Penn Epigenetics Institute and a member of the Abramson Cancer Center.
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation presents Clinical Investigator Awards to outstanding early-career physician-scientists who are conducting patient-oriented cancer research at major research centers under the mentorship of the nation’s leading scientists and clinicians.
The program is intended to help address the shortage of physicians capable of translating scientific discovery into new breakthroughs for individuals with cancer.
Capell has studied epigenetic markers in the skin to better understand their function and how they change as skin is damaged. He hopes to use that knowledge to identify targets for topical skin cancer treatments.
“We are thrilled to continue to fund high-quality, patient-focused research like the work proposed by Dr. Capell,” Yung S. Lie, PhD, deputy director and chief scientific officer at Damon Runyon, said in a press release. “This award will help him continue to develop his cancer research program, which has the potential to make an impact in a cutting edge area of the cancer field.”