Katrina Lambrecht Chief Administrative Officer | U. of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
Katrina Lambrecht Chief Administrative Officer | U. of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
Christian Capitini, MD, a prominent physician-scientist in pediatric cancers, has been appointed as the acting director of UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center. Capitini expressed his enthusiasm for this new role and emphasized the importance of collaboration and innovation in advancing patient care and cancer prevention.
“It’s a tremendous honor to serve as the acting director of our prestigious cancer center,” Capitini stated. “The depth and breadth of research on this campus coupled with the innovative treatments for both adult and pediatric cancer patients is unparalleled. I look forward to leading our exceptional team of researchers and clinicians to revolutionize more effective approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer for the state of Wisconsin and nationally.”
Capitini takes over from Howard Bailey, MD, who retired after nearly a decade as Carbone Cancer Center’s director. Capitini's career at UW began in 2011 when he aimed to enhance its pediatric immunotherapy research program. His lab has focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for blood cancers. Notably, Capitini participated in pioneering multi-center CAR T-cell clinical trials that led to FDA approval for treating children with relapsed or refractory B-cell leukemia.
Besides his clinical work at American Family Children’s Hospital's Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program, Capitini leads Carbone’s Developmental Therapeutics Program. He is also involved in several clinical trials exploring novel stem cell transplants and cellular therapies for childhood cancer.
Capitini attributes Carbone’s research strength to teamwork among colleagues across various departments at UW. “One of my favorite reasons for working at Carbone is that the center brings together experts from so many disciplines of science together with leaders in medicine and public health,” he noted.
Throughout his career, Capitini has received numerous accolades including awards from the Department of Pediatrics Gerard B. Odell Research Award and the Society for Pediatric Research. He remains active nationally as a member of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer.