Research Biologist — Division of Biochemical Toxicology

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Camila S. Silva, Ph.D.
(870) 543-7121
[email protected]  

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About  |  Publications | Lab Members

Background

Dr. Camila Silva graduated from Triângulo University Center (Brazil) with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, then received a master’s degree in immunology and parasitology from the Federal University of Uberlândia (Brazil) and a Ph.D. in biomedical research from the School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (Brazil). During her Ph.D. training, she spent four months as a visiting scientist at the Institute of Molecular Nutrition, Technische Universität München (Germany).

She joined the Division of Microbiology at FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) postdoctoral fellow (2010-2011) to conduct research on molecular diagnosis of human coronaviruses circulating in Arkansas during the flu season. In 2014, Dr. Silva joined the Division of Biochemical Toxicology at NCTR as an ORISE postdoctoral fellow, was converted to a staff fellow in 2016, and became a research biologist in 2022. She has conducted research on the potential use of circulating micro ribonucleic acids (miRNA) as minimally invasive biomarkers of toxicity in collaboration with investigators in NCTR’s Division of Neurotoxicology and Division of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics.

Research Interests

Dr. Silva has participated in studies using animal models to assess the toxicity of products of interest to the FDA, including the food adulterants melamine and cyanuric acid and the dietary supplements nattokinase and lumbrokinase. As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Silva used her background in virology and molecular biology to develop a method to monitor wastewater samples for the presence of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. This method is being applied for routine detection of the virus and to help surveil the extent of the COVID-19 epidemic in local communities in Arkansas. Dr. Silva plays an important role in the optimization of methods, sample preparation and processing, and data analysis to support ongoing studies in the Division of Biochemical Toxicology. She is investigating the use of miRNA and gene expression as molecular endpoints to assist in toxicity assessments and the molecular mechanisms by which compounds of interest to the FDA induce toxicity.

Professional Societies/National and International Groups 

Society of Toxicology 
Member
2015 – Present

South Central Chapter of the Society of Toxicology
Member
2019 – Present

Selected Publications

A Robust Biostatistical Method Leverages Informative but Uncertainly Determined qPCR Data for Biomarker Detection, Early Diagnosis, and Treatment.
Zhuang W., Camacho L., Silva C.S., Thomson M., and Snyder K.  
PLoS One. 2022, 17(1):e0263070. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263070. PMID: 35100319; PMCID: PMC8803186.

Reproducibility Challenges for Biomarker Detection with Uncertain but Informative Experimental Data.
Zhuang W., Camacho L., Silva C.S., and Hong H.
Biomark Med. 2020, 14(13):1255-1263. doi: 10.2217/bmm-2019-0599. PMID: 33021389.

Data on the Effect of Heat and Other Technical Variables on the Detection of MicroRNAs in Human Serum.
Camacho L., Porter-Gill P., and Silva C.S.
Data Brief. 2019, 24:103750. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2019.103750. eCollection 2019 Jun. PMID: 30976632.

Identification of Whole Blood mRNA and microRNA Biomarkers of Tissue Damage and Immune Function Resulting from Amphetamine Exposure or Heat Stroke in Adult Male Rats.
Camacho L., Silva C.S., Hanig J.P., Schleimer R.P., George N.I., and Bowyer J.F.
PLoS One. 2019, 14(2):e0210273. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210273. eCollection 2019. PMID: 30779732.

Effects of a 28-day Dietary Co-Exposure to Melamine and Cyanuric Acid on the Levels of Serum microRNAs in Male and Female Fisher 344 Rats.
Silva C.S., Chang C.W., Williams D., Porter-Gill P., Gamboa da Costa G., and Camacho L.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2016, 98(Pt A):11-16. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2016.09.013. Epub 2016 Sep 9. PMID: 27621052.

Human Respiratory Coronaviruses Detected In Patients with Influenza-Like Illness in Arkansas, USA.
Silva C.S., Mullis L.B., Pereira O. Jr., Saif L.J., Vlasova A., Zhang X., Owens R.J., Paulson D., Taylor D., Haynes L.M., and Azevedo M.P.
Virol Mycol. 2014, (Suppl 2):004. doi: 10.4172/2161-0517.S2-004. Epub 2014 Mar 26. PMID: 27588218.

Effects of α-tocopherol Supplementation on Liver of Rats Chronically Exposed to Ethanol.
Silva C.S., Monteiro T.H., Simões-Ambrósio L.M., Sunaga D.Y., Cardoso J.F., Furtado K.S., Ong T.P., Moreno F.S., Zucoloto S., and Vannucchi H.
J Nutrigenet Nutrigenomics. 2013;6(3):125-36. doi: 10.1159/000354081. Epub 2013 Aug 10. PMID: 23942415.

Investigation on the 19S ATPase Proteasome Subunits (Rpt1-6) Conservation and Their Differential Gene Expression in Schistosoma Mansoni.
Pereira-Júnior O.S., Pereira R.V., Silva C.S., Castro-Borges W., Sá R.G., Cabral F.J., Silva S.H., Soares C.S., Morais E.R., Moreira E.B., Magalhães L.G., de Paula F.M., and Rodrigues V.
Parasitol Res. 2013, 112(1):235-42. doi: 10.1007/s00436-012-3130-4. Epub 2012 Sep 28. PMID: 23052763.

Vitamin E Alters Inflammatory Gene Expression in Alcoholic Chronic Pancreatitis.
Monteiro T.H., Silva C.S., Cordeiro Simões Ambrosio L.M., Zucoloto S., and Vannucchi H.
J Nutrigenet Nutrigenomics. 2012;5(2):94-105. doi: 10.1159/000336076. Epub 2012 Aug 8. PMID: 22890014.

Schistosoma Mansoni Encodes SMT3B and SMT3C Molecules Responsible for Post-Translational Modification of Cellular Proteins.
Cabral F.J., Pereira O.S. Jr., Silva C.S., Guerra-Sá R., and Rodrigues V.
Parasitol Int. 2008, 57(2):172-8. doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2007.12.003. Epub 2007 Dec 15. PMID: 18243776.

Schistosoma Mansoni: Gene Expression of the Nucleotide Excision Repair Factor 2 (NEF2) During the Parasite Life Cycle, and in Adult Worms After Exposure to Different DNA-Damaging Agents.
Silva C.S., Silva S.H., Pereira-Júnior O.S., Cabral F.J., Costa-Cruz J.M., and Rodrigues V.
Acta Trop. 2007, 104(1):52-62. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2007.07.006. Epub 2007 Jul 31. PMID: 17850756.

Characterization of the Gene Expression Related to the Process of DNA Damage Tolerance in Schistosoma Mansoni.
Silva S.H., Pereira-Júnior O.S., Silva C.S., Brigatto O.M., Macedo E., and Rodrigues V.
Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2006, 101 Suppl 1:157-60. doi: 10.1590/s0074-02762006000900025. PMID: 17308764.

The Influence of Iron, Vitamin B(12), and Folate Levels on Soluble Transferrin Receptor Concentration in Pregnant Women.
de Azevedo Paiva A., Rondó P.H., Guerra-Shinohara E.M., and Silva C.S.
Clin Chim Acta. 2003, 334(1-2):197-203. doi: 10.1016/s0009-8981(03)00237-7. PMID: 12867292.

Lab Members

Contact Information for all lab members:
(870) 543-7121
[email protected] 

Luísa Camacho, Ph.D.
Research Biologist 

Kenneth Barry Delclos, Ph.D.
Research Pharmacologist

Alec Salminen, Ph.D.
ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow