Tufts University School of Medicine, United Stated of America
Octobre 2021 à mars 2022
Ana Soto is a theoretical and experimental biologist. She graduated as a Medical Doctor at the School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. She is a professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, and a Foreign Correspondent Member at the Centre Cavaillès, Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), in Paris. Her research interests include the control of cell proliferation, morphogenesis, the developmental origins of adult disease, and theoretical and epistemological topics pertaining to biological autonomy and organization.
In partnership with Professor Carlos Sonnenschein, they posited that the default state of cells in all organisms is proliferation and proposed the Tissue Organization Field Theory of Carcinogenesis, in which cancer is viewed as development gone awry. As the Blaise Pascal Chair at the ENS (2013-5) she coordinated a multidisciplinary working group devoted to the elaboration of a theory of organisms.
She is an elected member of the Collegium Ramazzini, Carpi, Italy since 2011. She is the recipient of several honors, including the 1995 Marla Frazin Award, presented by the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition; the 2012 Gabbay Biotechnology & Medicine Award of Brandeis University, presented to her and her colleagues, for their contributions to public health; and in 2019, she was awarded the Grand Vermeil Medal, from the City of Paris for her pioneering role in the discovery of endocrine disruptors.
Building bridges between natural and social sciences through the prism of a theory of organisms.
Theories organize knowledge and construct objectivity by framing observations and experiments. Biology needs a theory of organisms to guide biological research out of the dead end where it was driven by the metaphoric use of information theory. Central to this theory of organisms is the historicity and relentless change of the living, their normative agency and their goal-oriented behavior. So far, Soto and her collaborators identified three principles: (i) the default state of cells, constitutive proliferation with variation and motility, equivalent to the principle of inertia in classic mechanics ii) variation and iii) organization. The first two principles link this theory to that of evolution, and the first and last to the normative agency of organisms.
This work also has implications for society at large, namely 1) how to render biological knowledge useful to society and how to overcome the impoverishment of scientific thought brought about by the misuse of the concept of information and by computer-driven automatisation, and 2) how this theoretical proposal could mitigate the environmental crisis in the 21st century. Developing these subjects will take place by organizing seminars, symposia and workshops with regional, national and international experts and by formal and informal interactions with IAS-Nantes fellows.
Book Chapters
1. Sonnenschein, C. and Soto, A.M. Mechanism of estrogen action: the old and new paradigm. In: Symposium of "Estrogens in the Environment,” edited by J. McLachlan, Elsevier/North Holland, Amsterdam. March 1980. pp. 169-197.
2. Sonnenschein, C. and Soto, A.M. An overview on cell multiplication: positive or negative control. In: Biological Activities of Alpha-Fetoprotein, edited by G.J. Mizejewski and H.I. Jacobson, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1987.
3. Sonnenschein, C. and Soto, A.M. Cell proliferation in metazoans: negative control mechanisms. In: Regulatory Mechanisms in Breast Cancer, edited by M.E. Lippman and R.B. Dickson, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, 1990, pp. 171-194.
4. Soto, A.M., Lin, T-M., Justicia, H., Silvia, R.M. and Sonnenschein, C. An "in culture" bioassay to assess the estrogenicity of xenobiotics. In: Chemically Induced Alterations in Sexual Development: The Wildlife/Human Connection, edited by T. Colborn and C. R. Clement, Princeton Scientific Publishing Co. Princeton, NJ, 1992, pp. 295-309.
5. Soto, A.M., Michaelson, C.L., Prechtl, N.V., Weill, B.C., Sonnenschein, C., Olea-Serrano, M.F. and Olea, N. Assay to measure estrogen and androgen agonists and antagonists. In: In Vitro Germ Cell Developmental Toxicology: From Science to Social and Industrial Demand, edited by J. del Mazo, Plenum Press Publishing Co., New York, 1998, pp. 9-28.
6. Soto, A.M. and Sonnenschein, C. Estrogens, xenoestrogens and the development of neoplasms. In: Endocrine Disrupters: Effects on the Male and Female Reproductive Systems, edited by R.K. Naz, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1998, pp. 125-163.
7. Soto, A.M., Sonnenschein, C., Murray, M.K. and Michaelson, C.L. Estrogenic plasticizers and antioxidants. In: Hormonally Active Agents in Food, edited by Eisenbrand, G., WILEY-VCH, Weinhem, Federal Republic of Germany, 1998, pp. 142-160.
8. Soto, A.M., Michaelson, C.L., Prechtl, N.V., Weill, B.C. and Sonnenschein, C. In vitro endocrine disrupter screening. In: Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment: Standardization of Biomarkers for Endocrine Disruption and Environmental Assessment, Vol. 8, edited by D. Henshel, Published by the American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conschocken, PA. 8:39-58,1999.
9. Soto, A.M. and Sonnenschein, C. Xenoestrogens in the context of carcinogenesis. In: Environmental Endocrine Disrupters: An Evolutionary Perspective, edited by L.J. Guillette, Taylor and Francis, Washington, D.C., 2000, pp.291-321.
10. Sonnenschein, C., and Soto, A.M. Reflections on bioanalytical techniques for detecting endocrine disrupting chemicals, In Nicolopoulou-Stamati P, Hens L, Howard CV (eds): Endocrine Disrupters: Environmental Health and Policies, Dordrecht, 2001, pp 21-38.
11. Markey, C.M., Michaelson, C.L., Sonnenschein, C., and Soto, A.M. Alkylphenols and bisphenol A as environmental estrogens, In: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry Vol 3. Part L, Endocrine Disruptors - Part I, edited by M. Metzler, Berlin Heidelberg: Springer Verlag, 2001, pp. 129-153.
12. Markey, C.M., Soto, A.M., and Sonnenschein, C. Environmental Disruptors of Sex Hormone Action, In: Encyclopedia of Hormones. H. L. Henry, A. W. Norman, eds. Academic Press, San Diego, 2003 pp. 523-533.
13. Soto, A.M. and Sonnenschein, C. Estrogens, xenoestrogens and the development of neoplasms. In: Endocrine Disrupters: Effects on the Male and Female Reproductive Systems, edited by R.K. Naz, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2005, pp. 175-216.
14. Soto, A.M., Rubin, B.S. and Sonnenschein, C. Endocrine Disruption and the Female. In: Handbook of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, edited by Andrea Gore; Humana Press, 2007.
15. Maffini, M.V. Sonnenschein, C. and Soto, A.M. Breast. In: Environmental Impacts on Reproductive Health and Fertility; Woodruff, T. J., Janssen, S. J., Guillette, L. J., Jr., Giudice, L. C., Eds.; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2010; Chapter 3.3.
Books Edited/Authored
1. Soto, A.M., Sonnenschein, C. and Colborn, T. Guest Editor, Special Issue: Endocrine Disruption and Reproductive Effects in Wildlife and Humans. In: Comments on Toxicology, edited by A. Wallace Hayes, Overseas Publishers Association, Amsterdam, 1996, 5(4-5): 315-506.
2. Sonnenschein, C. and Soto, A.M. La Société des Cellules: Nouvelle approche du cancer. Editions Sylepse, Paris, 2006.
3. Sonnenschein, C. and Soto, A.M. La Sociedad de las células. Ediciones EUDEBA, Buenos Aires, 2019.
