Department of Genetics
Rafael Casellas, Ph.D., is a Professor of Hematopoietic Biology and Malignancy and Director of the MD Anderson Nanobody Center at MD Anderson Cancer Center. A molecular immunologist, his work focuses on how nuclear processes—transcription, epigenetics, recombination, and genome architecture—shape B cell development and transformation. Over the past 25 years, his laboratory has combined mouse genetics, genomics, CRISPR screens, cryo-EM, and single-molecule imaging to uncover fundamental mechanisms of gene regulation, including transcriptome amplification, the origins of antibody gene translocations, and the role of nuclear architecture in enhancer–promoter communication. His group has also led major structural studies of the Mediator complex and pioneered mouse models for generating therapeutic nanobodies, contributing to antibody development against SARS-CoV-2, HIV-1, and cancer antigens. Before joining MD Anderson in 2022, Rafael served as a Senior Investigator and Branch Chief at the NIH and led the NIH Regulome Project.
Host: Derek Gordon, Phd, Associate Professor, Department of Genetics
