Research and career
Her research considers the molecular mechanisms for neurodevelopment and neuroplasticity. [14] 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. [15] She studies brainstem tumours as a paradigm for paediatric gliogenesis. [16] Monje works at Stanford University, where she has developed new treatments for brain cancer since 2011. [17] 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. [18] 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. [19] The tumour tissue resources developed in Monje's laboratory are shared with researchers all around the world. [18] She also uses mouse models to test possible therapies.
Monje's research program focuses at the intersection of neuroscience, immunology and cancer biology. Her laboratory studies how neuronal activity regulates healthy glial precursor cell proliferation, new oligodendrocyte generation, and adaptive myelination [3] ; this plasticity of myelin contributes to healthy cognitive function, while disruption of myelin plasticity contributes to cognitive impairment in disease states like cancer therapy-related cognitive impairment [20] . Her lab discovered that neuronal activity similarly promotes the progression of malignant gliomas [21] , driving glioma growth through both paracrine factors [21] and through electrophysiologically functional neuron-to-glioma synapses [22] [23] [24] . Together with her former mentee Humsa Venkatesh, Monje also discovered that small cell lung cancer brain metastases similarly form bona fide synapses with neurons and are driven by neuronal activity. [25]
Monje has led several of her discoveries from basic molecular discoveries to clinical trials. Monje led a Phase 1 clinical trial of panobinostat, a drug which slows the growth of DIPG and has been shown to increase survival rates in mice. She has also leveraged engineered immune cells called chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells to eradicate brain tumours. [26] 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 GD2 is caused by the H3K27M mutation, which drives the growth of tumour. Crystal Mackall developed CAR-T cells that attack the GD2. Working together, Monje and Mackall discovered that GD2-CAR T cells kill cultured DIPG cells which carry the H3K27M mutation. [26] Monje's engineered cells can cross the blood–brain barrier, and have been shown to greatly reduce the number of cancer cells in mice. [26] She has led a Phase I clinical trial (NCT04196413) of GD2-CAR T cells for children and young adults with DIPG and other diffuse midline gliomas [27] that has shown promise in early reports. [28] [29]
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. [18] The campaigning and research of Monje resulted in the United States renaming May 17 as Paediatric Brain Cancer Awareness Day. [18] In addition to numerous federal and private foundation grants, her research is supported by family members of children who have suffered from DIPG. [11] [30] Monje serves on the advisory board of Abbie's Army and ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation, non-profits that fight for a cure for DIPG. [31]
Monje's work has led to a new recognition of the important roles that the nervous system plays in cancer [32] [33] and has been foundational for the new field of Cancer Neuroscience [6] [7] . Her work pioneering the field of Cancer Neuroscience has been recognized with numerous honors, including an NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, the 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers [34] a MacArthur Fellowship [35] , the 2023 Paul Marks Prize [8] , the 2023 Richard Lounsbery Award [36] , the 2024 Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine [7] , the 2025 Prize in Translational Neuroscience from the Max Planck Society [9] , the 2025 Brain Prize [6] , and election to the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine [37] [38] .
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