Camila dos Santos
Associate Professor
Cancer Center Member
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
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.
Breast cancer team wins CSHL beach volleyball championship
October 19, 2022
Collaboration and camaraderie inspire Breast cancer researcher Camila dos Santos’ team, Breast Friends, to succeed both in the lab and on the courts.
The 2022 CSHL beach volleyball league championships
October 19, 2022
The 31st season of CSHL volleyball once again fostered camaraderie and competition between friends and colleagues at the laboratory.
In breast cancer, the best defense is a strong offense
December 7, 2021
CSHL cancer researchers revealed how the immune system prepares to combat breast cells that may turn cancerous after a pregnancy.
CSHL organoid facility: Cancer custodians
July 2, 2021
To beat our worst enemy, we must first let it grow.
Cataloging breast cells to find cancer origins
May 14, 2021
CSHL scientists created a profile of normal breast tissue to pinpoint which cells might start down the path to cancer.
LIVE at the Lab with Camila dos Santos: Breast Cancer Research
December 21, 2020
Assistant Professor Camila dos Santos describes how her lab uses organoid models to study how pregnancy permanently alters gene expression.
LIVE At the Lab: Pregnancy and breast cancer
December 21, 2020
CSHL Assistant Professor Camila dos Santos discusses the biology of how pregnancy reduces breast cancer risk.
One experiment: Organoids as living laboratories
October 30, 2020
These tiny balls of cells are revolutionizing the research and treatment of pancreas and other types of cancers.
All Publications
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
New Design Rules for Developing Potent Cell-Active Inhibitors of the Nucleosome Remodeling Factor (NURF) via BPTF Bromodomain Inhibition.
13 Sep 2021 | Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Zahid, Huda, Buchholz, Caroline, Singh, Manjulata, Ciccone, Michael, Chan, Alice, Nithianantham, Stanley, Shi, Ke, Aihara, Hideki, Fischer, Marcus, Schönbrunn, Ernst, Dos Santos, Camila, Landry, Joseph, Pomerantz, William
PELP1/SRC-3-dependent regulation of metabolic PFKFB kinases drives therapy resistant ER+ breast cancer.
8 Jun 2021 | Oncogene
Truong, Thu, Benner, Elizabeth, Hagen, Kyla, Temiz, Nuri, Kerkvliet, Carlos, Wang, Ying, Cortes-Sanchez, Emilio, Yang, Chieh-Hsiang, Trousdell, Marygrace, Pengo, Thomas, Guillen, Katrin, Welm, Bryan, Dos Santos, Camila, Telang, Sucheta, Lange, Carol, Ostrander, Julie
Characterization of Gene Expression Signatures for the Identification of Cellular Heterogeneity in the Developing Mammary Gland.
14 May 2021 | Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia
Henry, Samantha, Trousdell, Marygrace, Cyrill, Samantha, Zhao, Yixin, Feigman, Mary, Bouhuis, Julia, Aylard, Dominik, Siepel, Adam, Dos Santos, Camila
Characterization of Organoid Cultures to Study the Effects of Pregnancy Hormones on the Epigenome and Transcriptional Output of Mammary Epithelial Cells
1 Nov 2020 | Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia | 25(4):351-366
Ciccone, M, Trousdell, M, Dos Santos, C