Fernando Camargo and lab outside on a sunny day
Fernando Camargo and his lab at the Museum of Science in 2018
Principal Investigator

Fernando Camargo, Ph.D.

Fernando Camargo and lab outside on a sunny day
Fernando Camargo and his lab at the Museum of Science in 2018

The Camargo laboratory focuses on the study of adult stem cell biology, organ size regulation, and cancer.

Image of Fernando Camargo, Ph.D.

Fernando Camargo, Ph.D.

  • Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology
  • Principal Faculty
    Stem Cell Program, Boston Children's Hospital
  • Principal Faculty
    Harvard Stem Cell Institute


Dr. Camargo received a PhD from Baylor College of Medicine in 2004, studying the developmental plasticity of adult somatic stem cells in the laboratory of Dr. Margaret Goodell. Dr. Camargo then became a Whitehead Fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, where he directed a laboratory focused on the regulation of stem cell proliferation and differentiationand the mechanisms that control tissue size in mammals. He joined Children’s Hospital and the Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department at Harvard University in 2009. Dr. Camargo was named a 2009 V Foundation Scholar and is the recipient of the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award.

Lab Overview

Despite fantastic progress in developmental biology research over the past decade, one aspect of development and tissue homeostasis for which very little is understood is how individual tissues reach and then maintain their appropriate size. Classic studies have demonstrated that tissues are able to ‘sense’ their size and expand or shrink until a correct dimension has been reached. Nevertheless, the nature of the molecules and pathways involved in this process remain mysterious

Areas of Investigation
  • Organ Size Regulation

    How do individual tissues reach and then maintain their appropriate size? Our laboratory utilizes a variety of genetic, biochemical, and high throughput technologies to identify molecules and mechanisms that regulate this fascinating process in mammals.
    Cells under the microscope, stained blue
  • Characterization of Hematopoietic Stem Cells In Vivo

    We study the roles of transcription factors and microRNAs in stem cell fate decisions, differentiation, and malignancy within living systems. Our novel methodology makes it possible to track and monitor individual hematopoietic stem cells and their progeny, and we are expanding this into an experimental paradigm to study complex populations of stem cells in situ.
    Image of cells under the microscope, pink and purple
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