Capitini leads an NIH-supported laboratory focusing on development of cell-based immunotherapies, including natural killer (NK) cells and CAR T cells, for the treatment of pediatric solid tumors like neuroblastoma, osteosarcoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma. The Capitini Lab also develops alternatively activated macrophages for complications of bone marrow transplant, including graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) and acute radiation syndrome.
Capitini was one of 13 U.S. site principal investigators (PI) for the first multicenter CD19 CAR T cell trial, which led to the FDA approval of tisagenlecleucel-T (Kymriah) for relapsed and refractory B cell leukemia. Currently, he is site PI for a Kymriah trial related to the upfront treatment of high-risk B cell leukemia and for a multicenter GD2 CAR T cell trial investigating neuroblastoma and osteosarcoma treatment through the Pediatric NCI-Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network (CITN). He is also a sponsor and PI for a University of Wisconsin clinical trial expanding gamma delta T cells in vivo using zoledronate after alpha beta T cell depleted stem cell transplant.