DR. JACEK CAPALA
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
CONTACT INFORMATION
National Cancer Institute
9609 Medical Center Dr., MSC 9727
For USPS: Bethesda, MD 20892-9727
For Express and Courier: Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 240-276-5706
Fax: 240-276- 5827
Email: capalaj@mail.nih.gov
Jacek Capala, Ph.D., DSc, is a Program Director at the Clinical Radiation Oncology Branch in the Radiation Research Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He oversees a portfolio of research grants in the field of targeted radiopharmaceuticals therapy (TRT) and its combination with other treatment modalities. He also provides medical physics expertise for NCI-funded TRT clinical trials and works with academia, relevant professional societies, industry, and government agencies on development of tools and procedures for TRT dosimetry and treatment planning.
Dr. Jacek Capala received his PhD from Uppsala University, Sweden. His PhD thesis work included one of the first published reports on using EGFR as a target for delivery of radioactivity to tumor cells. As a postdoctoral fellow at Ohio State University, he developed EGFR-targeted nanoparticles (starburst dendrimers) for drug delivery. Next, Dr. Capala moved to the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, where he contributed to the design of clinical trials of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) and was responsible for medical physics aspects of these trials. His accomplishments in the US resulted in an advanced academic degree (DSc) awarded by Uppsala University and an invitation to start a new BNCT research program, including clinical trials, back in Sweden. In 2004, Dr. Capala returned to the US and joined Intramural NCI program where he initiated and led a multidisciplinary project to develop an individualized approach to treatment of HER2-positive cancers. His team developed molecular probes for in vitro and in vivo monitoring of HER2 expression and, for therapy, a novel class of HER2-specific cytotoxic molecules combining HER2-specific Affibody as a targeting moiety and Pseudomonas exotoxin A as a cell killing agent. Dr. Capala has authored over 200 scientific research articles, reviews, and book chapters with almost 4,000 citations (h-index 38, Web of Science, February 2023) and acts as a reviewer for several scientific journals.