Camila dos Santos
Associate Professor
Cancer Center Associate Director of DEI
Ph.D., Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Brazil, 2007
dossanto@cshl.edu | 516-367-8869
Among the changes that occur during pregnancy, those affecting the breasts have been found to subsequently modify breast cancer risk. My laboratory investigates how the signals present during pregnancy permanently alter the way gene expression is controlled and how these changes affect normal and malignant mammary development.
Camila dos Santos’ laboratory studies the epigenetic regulation of normal and malignant mammary gland development, with an emphasis on the alterations brought by pregnancy. Significant changes mark the pre- and post-pubescence mammary developmental stages, but those associated with pregnancy have the greatest effect on cellular function, tissue reorganization, and breast cancer susceptibility. Her group has recently found that mammary glands react differently to a second pregnancy than they do to the first one, with associated changes in DNA methylation. These findings suggested that pregnancy changes the state of mammary cells, and these may permanently alter how they react to the next pregnancy. In addition, the dos Santos lab is exploring how the pregnancy-induced epigenetic changes might influence cell transformation and the risk of breast cancer. This research utilizes genomic and computational approaches to define the pre and post-pregnancy mammary epigenome. An additional objective of the dos Santos’ laboratory is to use functional genomics to discover novel transcriptional regulators that modulate mammary stem cell self-renewal, lineage specification, and cell transformation. The long-term objective of Camila’s group is to improve the notion of the mammary epigenome during normal development and use this information to gain insight into new preventive and curative strategies to target breast cancer.
Pershing Square Sohn prize to Camila dos Santos
Rita Allen Foundation Scholar
The V Foundation: V Scholar Award
Women’s health quiz
March 19, 2024
CSHL research has yielded insights into a number of women’s health topics, from menopause to breast cancer. Take this quiz to see how far we’ve come.
Women in science on women’s health
March 8, 2024
CSHL’s Camila dos Santos and Jessica Tollkuhn offer empowering insights into breast cancer prevention, pregnancy, menopause, and hormone therapy.
Can AI uncover breast cancer risk factors?
February 26, 2024
This question lies at the heart of a new interdisciplinary collaboration between CSHL’s Camila dos Santos and Peter Koo.
Cocktails & Chromosomes: Best shots of 2023
January 16, 2024
After a four-year hiatus, Cocktails & Chromosomes returned in 2023. Relive the past year’s best moments and see what’s in store for 2024.
CSHL celebrates 50th anniversary of McClintock Laboratory
November 20, 2023
Fifty years ago, CSHL honored Barbara McClintock by dedicating a building in her name. Today, it is home to four innovative cancer labs.
Test your breast cancer awareness
October 18, 2023
Awareness is key to prevention and potential future treatments. Take this quiz to find out about the latest in breast cancer research at CSHL.
Cocktails & Chromosomes: Breast cancer awareness edition
October 13, 2023
CSHL Associate Professor Camila dos Santos unpacks the science of breast cancer prevention at Industry bar in Huntington, NY.
The 2023 CSHL Volleyball League Finals
October 11, 2023
With a wide swath of the CSHL community in attendance, we got an up-close view of the action. How close? Think “camera on the ref’s head” close.
Eight serving one: CSHL volleyball mid-season report
August 2, 2023
CSHL’s 32nd Volleyball League season sees eight teams battling for the coveted Tiernan Cup and a year’s worth of bragging rights.
The CSHL School of Biological Sciences’ class of 2023
May 7, 2023
The School of Biological Sciences awarded 11 Ph.D. degrees this year. Here, the graduates reflect on their time and experiences at CSHL.
All Publications
Host response during unresolved urinary tract infection alters female mammary tissue homeostasis through collagen deposition and TIMP1
16 Apr 2024 | Nature Communications | 15(1):3282
Henry, Samantha, Lewis, Steven, Cyrill, Samantha, Callaway, Mackenzie, Chatterjee, Deeptiman, Hanasoge Somasundara, Amritha, Jones, Gina, He, Xue-Yan, Caligiuri, Giuseppina, Ciccone, Michael, Diaz, Isabella, Biswas, Amelia, Hernandez, Evelyn, Ha, Taehoon, Wilkinson, John, Egeblad, Mikala, Tuveson, David, Dos Santos, Camila
Host response during unresolved urinary tract infection alters mammary tissue homeostasis through collagen deposition and TIMP1
6 Feb 2024 | bioRxiv
Henry, Samantha, Lewis, Steven, Cyrill, Samantha, Callaway, Mackenzie, Chatterjee, Deeptiman, Hanasoge Somasundara, Amritha, Jones, Gina, He, Xue-Yan, Caligiuri, Giuseppina, Ciccone, Michael, Diaz, Isabella, Biswas, Amelia, Hernandez, Evelyn, Ha, Taehoon, Wilkinson, John, Egeblad, Mikala, Tuveson, David, Oresco dos Santos, Camila
Single-Cell Transcription Mapping of Murine and Human Mammary Organoids Responses to Female Hormones
30 Jan 2024 | Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia | 29(1):3
Ortiz, Jenelys, Lewis, Steven, Ciccone, Michael, Chatterjee, Deeptiman, Henry, Samantha, Siepel, Adam, Dos Santos, Camila
Single-cell transcription mapping of murine and human mammary organoids responses to female hormones
29 Sep 2023 | bioRxiv
Ortiz, Jenelys, Lewis, Steven, Ciccone, Michael, Chatterjee, Deeptiman, Henry, Samantha, Siepel, Adam, Dos Santos, Camila
Gestational Breast Cancer - a Review of Outcomes, Pathophysiology, and Model Systems
14 Jul 2023 | Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia | 28(1):16
Callaway, Mackenzie, Dos Santos, Camila
Cathepsin B Is Not an Intrinsic Factor Related to Asparaginase Resistance of the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia REH Cell Line
7 Jul 2023 | International Journal of Molecular Sciences | 24(13):11215
Costa, Iris, Effer, Brian, Costa-Silva, Tales, Chen, Chen, Ciccone, Michael, Pessoa, Adalberto, Dos Santos, Camila, Monteiro, Gisele
Immature natural killer cells promote progression of triple-negative breast cancer
8 Mar 2023 | Science Translational Medicine | 15(686):eabl4414
Thacker, Gatha, Henry, Samantha, Nandi, Ajeya, Debnath, Rahul, Singh, Snahlata, Nayak, Anupma, Susnik, Barbara, Boone, Melinda, Zhang, Qing, Kesmodel, Susan, Gumber, Sanjeev, Das, Gokul, Kambayashi, Taku, Dos Santos, Camila, Chakrabarti, Rumela
Clinical applications of 3D normal and breast cancer organoids: A review of concepts and methods
19 Nov 2022 | Experimental Biology and Medicine | :15353702221131877
Lewis, Steven, Callaway, Mackenzie, Dos Santos, Camila
Parity-induced changes to mammary epithelial cells control NKT cell expansion and mammary oncogenesis
7 Dec 2021 | Cell Reports | 37(10):110099
Hanasoge Somasundara, Amritha, Moss, Matthew, Feigman, Mary, Chen, Chen, Cyrill, Samantha, Ciccone, Michael, Trousdell, Marygrace, Vollbrecht, Macy, Li, Siran, Kendall, Jude, Beyaz, Semir, Wilkinson, John, Dos Santos, Camila
Engineered asparaginase from Erwinia chrysanthemi enhances asparagine hydrolase activity and diminishes enzyme immunoreactivity - a new promise to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia
8 Oct 2021 | Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology
Costa, Iris, Moura, Debora, Lima, Guilherme, Pessoa, Adalberto, dos Santos, Camila, de Oliveira, Marcos, Monteiro, Gisele