Michelle Monje facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michelle Monje
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Monje in 2015
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| Born | 21 March 1978 |
| Alma mater | Vassar College Stanford University |
| Known for | Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma |
| Spouse(s) | Karl Deisseroth |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Stanford University |
| Doctoral advisor | Philip A. Beachy |
| Other academic advisors | Theo Palmer |
Michelle Leigh Monje-Deisseroth is a special kind of doctor and scientist. She studies the brain (a neuroscientist) and treats brain cancers (a neuro-oncologist). She works as a professor at Stanford University and is also a researcher for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her main goal is to find new ways to treat a very serious brain cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.
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Her Early Life and School
Michelle Monje knew she wanted to be a doctor from a very young age, when she was just five years old. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a child, she became very interested in how living things work (biology).
When she was younger, Michelle was a figure skater. In middle school, she even taught figure skating to kids who had special needs.
She went to Vassar College for her first degree. Later, she studied medicine at Stanford University. She earned two degrees at once, becoming both a medical doctor (MD) and a scientist with a PhD, in 2004.
After her studies, she worked at Stanford University and then at Harvard Medical School. She also trained at important hospitals like Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2013, she became a certified expert in treating brain cancers and other brain problems.
Fighting Brain Cancer
Dr. Monje's research looks at how the brain develops and how it can change and learn new things. She studies how the brain's "wiring" (called neural circuits) forms, which helps us think and move. She also explores how the tiny area around a tumor (its microenvironment) affects how healthy cells turn into sick ones.
She focuses on brainstem tumors, especially in children. Since 2011, she has been working at Stanford University to find new treatments for brain cancer.
Understanding DIPG
Dr. Monje has spent a lot of time studying Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). This is a very tough cancer because it grows in the brainstem, which controls many basic body functions. It's very hard to treat with chemotherapy, and doctors cannot remove it with surgery.
In 2009, Dr. Monje and her team made a big step forward. They were the first to successfully grow DIPG cells in a lab from donations. This allowed them to watch how the cells grew and test different chemotherapy medicines on them. Her lab shares these important tumor samples with other scientists around the world. She also uses mouse models to test new treatments.
New Treatments for Cancer
Dr. Monje is leading a special study (called a Phase 1 clinical trial) for a medicine called panobinostat. This drug has shown promise in slowing down DIPG growth and helping mice live longer.
She has also found ways to change immune cells, like CAR-T cells, to fight brain tumors. This involves finding specific targets on the surface of DIPG tumors that these special CAR-T cells can attack.
Dr. Monje discovered that a molecule called GD2 is found on about 80% of DIPG tumors. A specific change in the tumor's DNA, called the H3K27M mutation, causes more GD2 to appear and helps the tumor grow.
Working with another scientist, Crystal Mackall, Dr. Monje helped create CAR-T cells that attack GD2. These cells can kill DIPG cells that have the H3K27M mutation. Her specially designed cells can even cross the blood–brain barrier (a protective shield around the brain). Tests have shown they can greatly reduce the number of cancer cells in mice.
In 2018, she was certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Neurology. In June 2019, a state leader, Jerry Hill, gave her a special award. Thanks to her research and efforts, May 17 is now known as Paediatric Brain Cancer Awareness Day in the United States.
Families of children who have had DIPG help support her research. Dr. Monje is also on the advisory board for Abbie's Army, a group working to find a cure for DIPG. In 2019, she received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, a very high honor for young scientists.
Awards and Recognition
- 2023 Richard Lounsbery Award
- 2021 MacArthur Fellowship
- 2021 Member, National Academy of Medicine
- 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
- 2017 Neuro-Oncology Investigator Award, American Academy of Neurology
Selected Publications
About Her Life
Michelle Monje is married to another neuroscientist, Karl Deisseroth. They have four children together.
