Michelle Leigh Monje-Deisseroth is a neuroscientist and neuro-oncologist. She is a professor of neurology at Stanford University and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She develops new treatments for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.
Michelle Monje
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Michelle Monje, discusses pediatric brain cancer treatments in a video for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in 2015
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| Born | (1978-03-21) 21 March 1978 (age 46) |
| Alma mater | Vassar College Stanford University |
| Known for | Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma |
| Spouse | Karl Deisseroth |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Stanford University |
| Doctoral advisor | Philip A. Beachy |
| Other academic advisors | Theo Palmer |
Monje wanted to be a physician from the age of five, when she was in kindergarten.[1] She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and became interested in biology as a child.[2] Monje was a figure skater during her childhood and taught figure skating to children with developmental disabilities whilst in Junior High.[2] She was an undergraduate student at Vassar College.[2] Monje studied medicineatStanford University and earned her MD–PhD in 2004.[3] She completed her internship at Stanford before leaving to join Harvard Medical School as a medical resident in neurology. Monje worked in the Brigham and Women's Hospital as well as the Massachusetts General Hospital. She completed a fellowship at the Stanford University School of Medicine, where she was mentored by Philip A. Beachy, and was board certified in neuro-oncology and neurological subspecialities in 2013.[2]
Her research considers the molecular mechanisms for neurodevelopment and neuroplasticity.[4] She looks at how the neural circuits responsible for cognitive and motor functions are developed, and how the microenvironment of a tumour impacts the transition of precursor cells to diseased cells.[5] She studies brainstem tumours as a paradigm for paediatric gliogenesis.[6] Monje works at Stanford University, where she has developed new treatments for brain cancer since 2011.[7] She has extensively investigated Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a cancer for which it is difficult to identify effective chemotherapy and impossible to remove surgically, as the tumour grows in the brainstem.[8] In 2009 she grew the first laboratory cultures of DIPG from deceased donors, which allowed her and her team to monitor the cell's growth and test chemotherapy agents.[9] The tumour tissue resources developed in Monje's laboratory are shared with researchers all around the world.[8] She also uses mouse models to test possible therapies.
Monje is leading a Phase 1 clinical trialofpanobinostat, a drug which slows the growth of DIPG and has been shown to increase survival rates in mice. She has also engineered immune cells including the chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells to eradicate brain tumours.[10] This work involved screening DIPG tumour cultures for surface molecules that could be targets for CAR-T cells. Monje found that GD2 is present on the surface of 80% of DIPG tumours. Over expression of the sugar molecule is caused by the H3K27M mutation and drives the growth of tumour. Crystal Mackall developed CAR-T cells that attack the GD2, killing cultured DIPG cells which carry the H3K27M mutation.[10] Monje's engineered cells can cross the blood–brain barrier, and have been shown to greatly reduce the number of cancer cells in mice.[10]
She was board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Neurology in 2018. She was recognised by State senator Jerry Hill with a Certificate of Recognition in June 2019.[8] The campaigning and research of Monje resulted in the United States renaming May 17 as Paediatric Brain Cancer Awareness Day.[8] Her research is supported by family members of children who have suffered from DIPG.[2][11] Monje serves on the advisory board of Abbie's Army, a non-profit that fights for a cure for DIPG.[12]
She is a recipient of the 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.[13]
Monje is married to neuroscientist Karl Deisseroth, with whom she has four children.
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