Trainee of the Month – Eden Kapcan

Eden Kapcan is a 3rd year MD/PhD student in Chemical Biology and is a member of the Rullo Lab.

Eden’s research focuses on designing small molecules that can leverage the immune system to treat cancer, making molecules “glue” to “stick” to their target. His supervisor, Prof Anthony Rullo, got him excited about chemical strategies in a biological context, and cancer is a deep micro-environment to study. In his spare time, Eden enjoys reading and walking and has a reintroduced love of soccer.

You can check out Eden’s latest publication from ACS Central Science.

1. What is your current research focus?

My current focus is in designing small molecules that can leverage the immune system to treat cancer. Our labs used various chemical “strategies” to optimize their impact. One is making our molecules “glues” which “stick” irreversibly to the target. In the past, I made these glues stick to antibodies naturally present, but dormant in serum, that then get recruited to specific cancer receptor. Now I’m making these glues double stick to both cancer targets and these antibodies simultaneously. This requires fine-tuning the structures and clever biophysical assays to test them, but it’s revealing exciting things about the glues. Stay tuned!

2. What made you interested in pursuing cancer research?

A little bit of serendipity, my professor Dr. Anthony Rullo, is someone who got me deeply excited using chemical strategies in biological contexts, and cancer is an incredibly deep micro-environment to study. Now, my interest in cancer lies in its multifaceted nature; a geneticist, an immunologist, a doctor, a patient, a biophysicist, a public health advocate, and a chemical biologist may all have different and valuable perspectives on this shared concept. My idea of expertise is when a person can integrate this knowledge, and I’ve been very grateful to be on this journey learning about it.

3. What are your interests outside the CDCR and the lab?

I enjoy reading, lately a good deal of anthropology, but it changes a lot. I was reintroduced to soccer after a long hiatus by my lab mate Arthur. I also enjoy going on walks with friends or with music.