Education

• Postdoctoral training, Physiology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia, 2012–2018
• Ph.D., Human Physiology, University of São Paulo, Brazil, 2012
• M.S., Human Physiology, University of São Paulo, Brazil, 2007
• B.S., Biology, College of Sciences and Letters, São Paulo, Brazil, 2005

Biography and Research

Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Co-Director of the Stem Cell and Organoid Core at the University of South Carolina’s Floyd School of Medicine Columbia, with an affiliate faculty appointment in Biomedical Engineering. She directs the Laboratory of Vascular Biology.

Her research connects vascular biology, engineering, and regenerative medicine to understand how blood vessels sense mechanical forces, adapt to stress, and undergo changes that contribute to hypertension and Alzheimer’s disease. Her laboratory combines vascular physiology, advanced imaging, single-cell molecular profiling, human endothelial cells, and vascularized organoid models to identify mechanisms of vascular injury and investigate strategies for vascular repair.

As senior and corresponding author of a publication in Nature Cardiovascular Research, Dr. Wenceslau and her collaborators introduced “directional endothelial intelligence”, a conceptual framework proposing that endothelial cells distinguish and hierarchically prioritize mechanical signals according to their direction and biological context. This work offers a new way to understand how the endothelium coordinates responses to competing mechanical demands to regulate vascular tone and tissue perfusion.

A complementary focus is endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, a process in which endothelial cells lose aspects of their identity and acquire characteristics that contribute to abnormal vascular remodeling. Her laboratory’s study in Circulation Research demonstrated that partial endothelial reprogramming using Oct4, Sox2, and Klf4 attenuated this transition, improved vascular function, and lowered blood pressure in hypertensive mice. Experiments in endothelial cells from patients with hypertension also demonstrated improvements in endothelial phenotype and nitric oxide signaling. The laboratory further investigates early vascular abnormalities in Alzheimer’s disease, including changes that precede overt amyloid pathology and interactions between endothelial cells and amyloid-β.

Dr. Wenceslau has taken a leading role in developing international consensus guidelines for vascular research. She is first an corresponding author of the 2021 Guidelines for the measurement of vascular function and structure in isolated arteries and veins and of the 2026 Guidelines for evaluating endothelial function in vascular tissue. These collaborative publications establish best practices for evaluating vascular and endothelial function and promote rigor and reproducibility across the field.

Mentoring the next generation of scientists is central to her academic program. Dr. Wenceslau has trained undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting scholars. Her trainees have received competitive fellowships and research support through Fulbright, the National Science Foundation, and the American Heart Association, including Career Development Awards. A recent postdoctoral mentee transitioned to a faculty position with an American Heart Association Career Development Award, reflecting the laboratory’s commitment to preparing trainees for independent research careers.

Her professional leadership includes chairing the Microcirculatory Society’s Programming Committee and serving as Co-President of the 2028 International Symposium on Resistance Arteries. She is a standing member of the NIH Integrative Vascular Physiology and Pathology Study Section and serves on the Editorial Board of Circulation Research. She also contributes to scientific communication for the American Heart Association’s Council on Hypertension by managing its X (formerly Twitter) account. At USC, she serves on the Provost’s task force on international engagement. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, including the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute on Aging (NIA), and National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), as well as the American Heart Association and the Alzheimer’s Association.

Dr. Wenceslau has authored more than 95 peer-reviewed publications. Her honors include the American Heart Association Harry Goldblatt Award, the John Laragh Research Award, and the Pete Cala Physiology Award for Research Excellence at the University of California, Davis. She is a Fellow of the American Heart Association.

Publications

1. Shazly T, Kenworthy AK, Isakson BE, Wenceslau CF. Directional endothelial intelligence enables hierarchical prioritization of local mechanical signals. *Nature Cardiovascular Research.* Published October 27, 2026.(https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-026-00902-7)
2. Pernomian L, et al. Wenceslau CF. Single-Short Partial Reprogramming of the Endothelial Cells Decreases Blood Pressure via Attenuation of EndMT in Hypertensive Mice. *Circulation Research. 2025;137(8):1092–1113. (https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.124.324909)
3. McCarthy CG, et al. Wenceslau CF. Guidelines for evaluating endothelial function in vascular tissue. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 2026;330(5):H1600–H1672.  (https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00656.2025)
4. Fontes MT, et al. Wenceslau CF. Hypertension Drives Protein Lactylation and Vascular Dysfunction in Skeletal Muscle. Hypertension. 2026;83(7):e25665. (https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.125.25665)
5. Waigi EW, et al. Wenceslau CF. Vascular dysfunction occurs prior to the onset of amyloid pathology and Aβ plaque deposits colocalize with endothelial cells in the hippocampus of female APPswe/PSEN1dE9 mice. *GeroScience.* 2024;46(6):5517-5536. (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-024-01213-0)

View complete bibliography

Awards and Honors

1. The John Laragh Research Award, 2020 - The American Journal of Hypertension (https://academic.oup.com/ajh/pages/john_laragh_research_award )
2. Fellow of the AHA (FAHA) Council on Hypertension
3. International Society of Hypertension, Spotlight of the month (http://ish-world.com/new-investigators-spotlight/i/April-2017-spotlight-of-the-month/ )
4. NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)
5. Research Recognition Award - Cardiovascular Section - The American Physiological Society (APS).