Rate My Professor Blanche Capel

Capel's research centers on the developmental biology of the gonads, with a focus on sex determination pathways in vertebrates. She investigates how the bipotential gonad primordium initiates testis development via the Y-linked Sry gene, the differentiation of Sertoli cells, and the biology of germ cells, including their communication with somatic cells during fetal and adult stages. Her studies extend to metabolic processes like glycogen and lactate metabolism in fetal Sertoli cells that support the germ line, as well as environmental influences such as temperature on germ cell number and sex determination in species like red-eared slider turtles. Recent findings include the role of platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha in fetal testis differentiation and iron deficiency causing sex reversal in mice. Key publications encompass foundational papers such as "Expression of a candidate sex-determining gene during mouse testis differentiation" (Nature, 1990) and "Male-to-female sex reversal in mice lacking fibroblast growth factor 9" (Cell, 2001), alongside recent contributions like "Iron deficiency in pregnant mice causes XY embryos to develop with female characteristics" (Nature, 2025), "Glycogen and lactate metabolism in mouse fetal Sertoli cells sustain the germ line" (Cell Reports, 2026), and "KDM6B is a conserved activator at the top of the male sex determination pathway" (Development, 2025). Capel has maintained long-term NIH funding, notably "Opposing Pathways in Mammalian Sex Determination" since 1998. She mentors in prestigious programs including Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH, 2002-2027) and Training Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology (2001-2027).