Claudia dos Santos

Claudia dos Santos is a Professor of Medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a staff critical care intensivist at Unity Health Toronto (UHT). She is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Translational Molecular Critical Care and a scientist at the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science.

Career

Dos Santos' research is focused on identifying novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of organ failure in patients with sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Her lab has developed a variety of model systems ranging from basic cell-based assays to animal models of lung injury and sepsis.

By leveraging whole-genome techniques, including transcriptomics, and advanced computational strategies, the lab conducts functional genomics experiments to screen potential targets and evaluate their effectiveness in improving outcomes within preclinical models.

Current projects

Dos Santos leads the Precision Medicine for Critical Care (PREDICT) program, which aims to use machine learning to improve translational molecular critical care. She also leads the ARIATNE (Advanced RNA-Intelligence for Accelerated Therapeutic Nanoparticle Engineering) alongside the Nanomedicine Innovation Network (NMIN), which is focused on using these techniques to prepare for pandemic response by developing personalized RNA therapies.

Additionally, Dr. dos Santos co-founded NorthMiRs, a student-owned startup dedicated to the development of RNA and gene-based nano therapies for treating sepsis and ARDS.