Capetanaki

Biography

Capetanaki studied Biology in the University of Athens, she received her M.Sc. from CUNY and her Ph.D from University of Heidelberg in 1980. She did her post doctoral and senior research fellowship at CALTECH. In 1986 she joined the faculty of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Baylor College of Medicine at Houston, where she stayed for 16 years and climbed up all the professorship ranks. Leaving Houston for Greece, she was offered an adjunct professorship in the same Department which she still holds. She is now head of the Cell Biology Division and director of the Center of Basic Research I of the Foundation of Biomedical Research of the Academy of Athens

Research Interest

Capetanaki's research goal is the use of Molecular and Cell Biology, Genomics and Transgenesis in mice to a) develop models and study the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure development and b) contribute in the development of gene and cell therapy strategies to prevent or reverse the developement or the responsible pathologic processes. Several discoveries from Capetanaki's group the last 10 years have provided very important insight into the role of desmin intermediate filaments (IFs) in protection against mitochondrial defect accumulation and cardiomyocyte death.