Blanche Capel Awarded 2025 Edwin G. Conklin Medal

11/14/2025

By Raisa Bailon-Zambrano

“Philosophically, the most important problems of biology are those which concern the origin of a new individual, the genesis of a living organism” -E. G. Conklin, 1896.

This quote beautifully encompasses decades of research led by Blanche Capel, this year’s Society for Developmental Biology Edwin G. Conklin Medal recipient. Capel is a professor in the Cell Biology Department at Duke University, where she has spent her career making significant strides in the developmental and reproductive biology fields. Her outstanding research contributions have shed light on gonadal sex determination and germline development, two processes crucial to the genesis of living organisms.

“I really didn’t know much about developmental biology. I had worked in a tetrahymena lab just for fun and it was fascinating.” When Capel started her research career, she was unsure of what questions to address, but she knew she wanted to make significant discoveries to move science forward. During graduate school, she first worked with Willys Silvers, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania doing research on skin grafts and studying immune tolerance. It was Silvers who introduced Capel to Beatrice Mintz, who would become her Ph.D. advisor. At that time, Mintz was working on stem cell research, testing the hypothesis that one special stem cell, the fertilized egg, can give rise to all lineages.

When talking about her mentor, Blanche refers to Mintz as one of the smartest people she has ever met and jokes about her special talents. “I never knew anyone that could be behind you every time you drop your forceps the way she could… She was full of information and so talented. I really enjoyed working with her.” Her time with Mintz heavily influenced what Capel worked on during her postdoctoral training. Capel recently discovered Mintz had trained with a scientist named Emile Ritchie who worked on sex determination and germ cell biology. Capel was amazed by the fact that a scientist from two generations ago was interested in exactly her questions. “It was like reading a description of my own lab. She [Mintz] must have somehow imbued me with Ritchie’s interests. I think it’s not coincidental. I think we pass on our interests to students and probably there was a subliminal message.”

The subliminal message worked as she found herself working with Robin Lovell-Badge, who at that time was setting up his lab in London. Blanche was awarded a National Institutes of Health grant to study germ line biology with Lovell-Badge, but as many of us know, science sometimes takes us through unexpected routes. When she arrived in Lovell-Badge’s lab, it was all hands on deck to clone the gene regulating sex determination in the testis, so she got swept away in the somatic determination project still unsure of whether she wanted to start her own lab.

During the third year of her postdoctoral position, she thought “Hey. I could do this. I’m actually pretty good at this.” Capel loves the experimental work, dreaming up ideas, being part of the research in lab, and keeping up with people’s experiments. What she loves the most is being engaged with her trainees and there is much evidence supporting this.

The Conklin Medal is awarded to developmental biologists not only for their remarkable contributions to science, but also for their excellent mentorship and involvement in training the next generations of exceptional scientists. Capel has mentored over 30 trainees, many of whom have started their own research programs. Past and present Capel trainees at all levels in academia eagerly supported her nomination.

“Her warmth has earned her admiration in many students, and she has gladly “adopted” graduate students in need of a supportive space. As a former trainee myself, I would be remiss to not mention Blanche’s efforts to build a strong lab community by hosting dinners or trips to the beach.” wrote Ceri Weber in her letter of support.

This sentiment is echoed by Lindsey Barske: “She is a first-rate developmental biologist, a generous member of our community, and, for me, a true and lasting mentor.”

Alongside her trainees, Capel has moved our understanding of gonad development forward. Her favorite discovery, among a long list, was finding that the gonad is bipotential; there are two opposing pathways competing for the direction of its differentiation. More recently, the Capel lab described a previously uncharacterized part of the female reproductive system, the Rete ovarii. She is thrilled for her lab to explore the functionally of this fundamentally novel tissue.

Capel’s commitment to education is not limited to her trainees. She feels strongly about educating the public about development biology and embryology. In fact, as head of the Publications and Communication committee for the SDB, she wants to start a project to meet the public at places outside education centers. “I want to reach people that don’t know about science. We are looking at venues to host an exhibit, like an airport or pediatric hospital to show our accomplishment on what we have learned about babies and pediatric diseases.”

The goal of her project is to accomplish real outreach to people who don’t know or think about what developmental biology is. This might be because they don’t understand what we as a field have contributed. “We have lost a lot of our cache to stem cell biology, which we are responsible for. It originated with us and people don’t recognize or credit that to developmental biology, same as with regeneration.” Capel aims to get the message out about the importance of the field and its contributions to society. These accomplishments include learning about the development and origin of human diseases as well as further understanding evolution.

“We know a lot more about how evolution works… how a fin turns into a limb for example. I think people think evolution is just survival of the fittest and they don’t understand the step-like changes that occur which allow us to evolve from fish to humans.” These are some of the areas where Capel feels we need to educate the public and she is excited to take on this task. 

When asked about her relationship with the SDB she said, “I love the Society. It is a wonderful home for me.” For those interested in hearing more about the highlights of her research and mentorship career, Capel will present her Conklin Medal lecture at the Society for Developmental Biology 84th Annual Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Last Updated 11/14/2025