Description of Research Expertise

Thomas Cappola is the William Smilow Professor and Chief, Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. His research aims to uncover heart failure mechanisms in human subjects and to use these insights to improve treatment. This has involved diverse approaches, including applied genomics, population science, laboratory studies, and clinical trials. He has established and leads a multicenter cohort study of advanced heart failure (Penn Heart Failure Study, PHFS); co-loads a multicenter consortium for human myocardial transcriptomics and systems genetics (Myocardial Applied Genomics Network, MAGNet); serves as a Principal Investigator on the NHLBI Heart Failure Clinical Research Network; and is a contributing member of numerous international genomics consortia. Within the Cardiovascular Division, he has established collaborative leadership to create programs integrating science and clinical care, and has used these as a platform for research and training. In his clinical role, he treats patients with advanced heart failure on the inpatient and outpatient heart failure/transplant service.

Selected Publications

Azzo JD, Dib MJ, Zagkos L, Zhao L, Wang Z, Chang CP, Ebert C, Salman O, Gan S, Zamani P, Cohen JB, van Empel V, Richards AM, Javaheri A, Mann DL, Rietzschel ER, Schafer PH, Seiffert DA, Gill D, Burgess S, Ramirez-Valle F, Gordon DA, Cappola TP, Chirinos JA.: Proteomic Associations of NT-proBNP (N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide) in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction. Circ Heart Fail. : e011146.,2024.

Gan S, Zhao L, Salman O, Wang Z, Ebert C, Azzo JD, Dib MJ, Zamani P, Cohen JB, Kammerhoff K, Schafer P, Seiffert DA, Ramirez-Valle F, Gordon DA, Cvijic ME, Gunawardhana K, Liu L, Chang CP, Cappola TP, Chirinos JA.: Proteomic Correlates of the Urinary Protein/Creatinine Ratio in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction. Am J Cardiol 206 : 312-319.,2023.

Guo Z, Valenzuela Ripoll C, Picataggi A, Rawnsley DR, Ozcan M, Chirinos JA, Chendamarai E, Girardi A, Riehl T, Evie H, Diab A, Kovacs A, Hyrc K, Ma X, Asnani A, Shewale SV, Scherrer-Crosbie M, Cowart LA, Parks JS, Zhao L, Gordon D, Ramirez-Valle F, Margulies KB, Cappola TP, Desai AA, Pedersen LN, Bergom C, Stitziel NO, Rettig MP, DiPersio JF, Hajny S, Christoffersen C, Diwan A, Javaheri A: Apolipoprotein M attenuates athracycline cardiotoxicity and lysosomaliInjury. JACC Basic Transl Sci 8 (3): 340-355,2023.

Spurrell CH, Barozzi I, Kosicki M, Mannion BJ, Blow MJ, Fukuda-Yuzawa Y, Slaven N, Afzal SY, Akiyama JA, Afzal V, Tran S, Plajzer-Frick I, Novak CS, Kato M, Lee EA, Garvin TH, Pham QT, Kronshage AN, Lisgo S, Bristow J, Cappola TP, Morley MP, Margulies KB, Pennacchio LA, Dickel DE, Visel A: Genome-wide fetalization of enhancer architecture in heart disease Cell Rep. 40 (12): 111400,2022.

Chirinos JA, Zhao L, Reese-Petersen AL, Cohen JB, Genovese F, Richards AM, Doughty RN, Díez J, González A, Querejeta R, Zamani P, Nuñez J, Wang Z, Ebert C, Kammerhoff K, Maranville J, Basso M, Qian C, Rasmussen DGK, Schafer PH, Seiffert D, Karsdal M, Gordon DA, Ramirez-Valle F, Cappola TP: Endotrophin, a collagen VI formation–derived peptide, in heart failure NEJM Evidence 1 (9): EVIDoa2200091,2022.

Flam E, Jang C, Murashige D, Yang Y, Morley MP, Jung S, Kantner DS, Pepper H, Bedi KC, Brandimarto J, Prosser BL, Cappola T, Snyder NW, Rabinowitz JD, Margulies KB, Arany Z: Integrated landscape of cardiac metabolism in end-stage human nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy Nat Cardiovasc Res 1 : 817-829,2022.

Javaheri A, Diab A, Zhao L, Qian C, Cohen JB, Zamani P, Kumar A, Wang Z, Ebert C, Maranville J, Kvikstad E, Basso M, van Empel V, Richards AM, Doughty RN, Rietzschel E, Kammerhoff K, Gogain J, Schafer P, Seiffert DA, Gordon DA, Ramirez-Valle F, Mann DL, Cappola TP, Chirinos JA: Proteomic analysis of effects of spironolactone in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction Circ Heart Fail 15 (9): e009693,2022.

Reza N, Edwards JJ, Katcoff H, Mondal A, Griffis H, Rossano JW, Lin KY, Holzhauser HL, Wald JW, Owens AT, Cappola TP, Birati EY, Edelson JB: Sex differences in left ventricular assist device-related emergency department encounters in the United States. J Card Fail 28 (9): 1445-1455,2022.

Lumbers RT, Shah S...Cappola TP, Ellinor PT, Vasan RS, Smith JG: The genomics of heart failure: design and rationale of the HERMES consortium ESC Heart Fail 8 (6): 5531-5541,2021.

McAfee Q, Chen CY, Yang Y, Caporizzo MA, Morley M, Babu A, Jeong S, Brandimarto J, Bedi KC Jr, Flam E, Cesare J, Cappola TP, Margulies K, Prosser B, Arany Z.: Truncated titin proteins in dilated cardiomyopathy Sci Transl Med 13 (618): eabd7287,2021.

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Academic Contact Information

Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
11-113 South Pavilion
3400 Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 215-662-3140
Patient appointments: 800-789-7366