Cristabelle De Souza, PhD

2025 Mentored Investigator Grant

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University

Project Summary
High-grade serous tubo-ovarian cancer (HGSC) is the most prevalent form of ovarian cancers, a majority of which are chemo resistant. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays an important role in modulating chemo resistance. Osteopontin (OPN) or SPP1 found in the TME is elevated in aggressive tumors. Here we aim to target OPN and understand its effect in sensitizing ovarian tumors to chemotherapy. We also aim to mechanistically dissect the transcriptional program modulated by OPN using a multiomic approach. Ultimately we want to develop OPN as an attractive target in the TME that can improve response to therapy and increase survival.

This grant was made possible by a generous donation from The Juliet Viola Kniffen Foundation in memory of Elizabeth Ann Maggio.

Bio
Dr. Cristabelle De Souza is a cancer biologist and cancer immunologist whose work currently focusses on fibrosis, inflammation, and cancer. She has a specific interest in using multiple drug discovery techniques to translate bench discoveries for therapeutic translation in the clinic. Having received her Ph.D. studying functional genomics and molecular therapeutics in the realm of gynecological malignancies, she then chose to pursue her postdoctoral training at the Stanford Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and clinical Department of Pathology studying mechanisms governing the pathogenic formation of fibrosis in solid organs and their development into cancer. Her interests broadly lie in defining the crosstalk between pathogenic fibroblasts and the innate immune milieu with the goal of identifying signaling proteins for therapeutic targeting. In her career so far, she has authored highly cited 43 peer reviewed publications, invented medical discoveries on 4 patents and been an invited oral presenter at > 25 international conferences. She is also the recipient of the Dr. Dina Lev Young Investigator award for her work on sarcomas and desmoid tumors among others. She was also recently awarded the OCRA Mentored Investigator Grant for her new role as an instructor studying ovarian tumors. As she transitions to her independent faculty position, Dr. De Souza would like to narrow her focus on studying the tumor microenvironment (TME) using multiomic strategies and identify molecular mechanisms that allow the TME to support disease onset and progression. She is now focusing her research interests in the space of ovarian cancer and aims to target SPP1 as a therapeutic strategy to chemo sensitize ovarian tumors and improve outcomes in ovarian cancer patients.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Rankin at Stanford, Dr. De Souza hopes her studies will help identify novel markers of disease pathogenesis, new mechanisms that can be targeted ultimately helping bring enhanced therapies for cancer to the clinic.