Current Monje Lab Members
Michelle Monje, MD, PhD
Michelle Monje, MD, PhD is a Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Her research program focuses at the intersection of neuroscience and brain cancer biology, with a particular focus on mechanisms and consequences of neuron-glial interactions in health, glial dysfunction in neurological disease and neuron-glial interactions in malignant glioma. Together with these basic studies, her research program has advanced preclinical studies of novel therapeutics for pediatric high-grade gliomas and cancer therapy-related cognitive impairment in order to translate new therapies to the clinic.
Anna Geraghty, PhD
Kathryn Taylor, PhD
After graduating from the University of Portsmouth with a BSc in Biomedical Science, Katy started her career in cancer research by investigating kinase inhibition in rhabdomyosarcomas. Katy obtained her PhD from the Institute of Cancer Research/University of London in 2016, where she studied translational genomics of diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas. Her current research within the Monje Lab focuses on the interaction between pediatric gliomas and their microenvironment. In particular, she studies the neurodevelopmental mechanisms which are leveraged by glioma cells to advance their own progression.
Jared Hysinger
Jared, born and raised in San Francisco, recently graduated from Stanford with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Biophysics. This will be his fourth year in the Monje lab where his work has focused on the molecular mechanisms of neuronal activity mediated glioma initiation using NF1-OPGs as a platform. Currently, he also serves as the Tissue Navigator and aims to pursue a career as a physician-scientist. Outside of the lab he enjoys cycling in the Stanford hills, musical theater, and traveling with friends.
Sara Mulinyawe
Sara’s experience includes over 20 years of assisting research labs here at Stanford and previously at UCDavis. In the Monje Lab, she is focused on tissue processing/imaging, cell culture, and lab organization. She brings expertise in isolating and culturing primary glia and neurons. She enjoys volunteering her time to charitable organizations, spending time with her family and sewing.
Lijun Ni
Lijun’s research experience includes 15 years of being a research associate at Indiana University Cancer Center. She has a Master’s Degree in Biotechnology. In the Monje Lab, Lijun focuses on quantitative microscopy, including electron microscopy (EM), as well as cell culture work. Since her move to the west coast, Lijun enjoys exploring the scenic wonders of the Bay Area during frequent road trips with her family.
Pamelyn Woo
With a spirit of inquiry, Pam found her way back to science after receiving a BA in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley and graduate work in film studies at the University of Chicago. She has been a neuroscience research assistant at Stanford since 2010 working on a variety of in vivo projects. Currently she focuses on colony management, behavior, and translational research on pediatric brain tumors.
Tara Barron, PhD
After completing a BS in Neuroscience and Psychology from Trinity University, Tara received a PhD in Neuroscience from UT Health San Antonio in 2019. Her graduate dissertation examined electrophysiological interactions between neurons and oligodendrocytes. In the Monje lab, she is using patch clamp electrophysiology to study the functional expression of receptors and channels in glioma cells and the roles they play in neuron-glioma interactions leading to glioma growth.
Shawn M. Gillespie, PhD
Shawn graduated from SUNY Oneonta in 2009 with a B.S. in human biology and anthropology. Before attending Stanford, he spent several years in Boston studying chromatin regulation in cancer. As a PhD student in the Cancer Biology program, Shawn is interested in better understanding how cancer cells interact with one another and with normal cells of the microenvironment. In the Monje lab, he is focused on elucidating mechanisms mediating neural regulation of pediatric high-grade glioma pathophysiology.
Yoon Seok Kim, PhD
Yoon received his Ph.D. in the Bioengineering Ph.D. program at Stanford. His graduate work with Drs. Karl Deisseroth and Brian Kobilka examined the structural and molecular mechanisms of light-gated ion channels. In the Monje lab, he is focused on elucidating molecular mechanisms underlying neuron-glioma interaction.
Minhui Su, PhD
Minhui studied Biochemistry in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She received her PhD from the Molecular Biology Program – International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) at the Georg August University Göttingen, Germany. She is currently investigating voltage-sensitive mechanisms of glioma growth. Glioma progression is dependent on neuronal activity via growth factors and integration into neural circuits. Minhui wants to understand how membrane depolarization regulates glioma growth in the tumor microenvironment.
Belgin Yalcin, PhD
Belgin received her PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2016, after completing an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Istanbul Technical University in 2011. In the Monje lab, her research focuses on understanding myelin plasticity of the brain. Specifically, she is investigating the basis of heterogeneity in the response of myelin-forming cells to neuronal activity.
Haojun Xu, PhD
Haojun (Lucy) obtained her Ph.D. from the Human Biology Program at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, in 2022, after completing a BS in Life and Environmental Sciences at the same university. Her Ph.D. study focused on a safeguard system in stem cell therapies. In the Monje lab, Lucy is interested in investigating how microglia mediates brain fog after infection in a region-specific manner.
Daniel Zamler, PhD
Daniel Bernard Zamler is the son of Sherwin and Monica Zamler. After completing his work at Wylie E. Groves in Beverly Hills Michigan in 2009, he entered the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He received the degree of Bachelor of Science with a major in Neuroscience from University of Michigan in May, 2013. For the next three years, he worked as a research technician in the Department of Neurosurgery at University of Michigan in the Laboratories of Pedro Lowenstein and Maria Castro. In August of 2017 he entered The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in the Laboratories of Giulio Draetta and Jian Hu. In 2022 he received his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology and Quantitative Sciences.
Lauren Koepke
Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine
Lauren graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt in 2017 with a B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology and a minor in Wildlife Biology. After graduating, she spent four years as a lab manager at Stanford where she studied skeletal stem cells in the context of aging and injury and established a novel therapeutic for osteoarthritis. Lauren is currently a Ph.D. student in the Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine program, with an interest in neural stem cell populations. In the Monje lab, she is studying the role of glial cells in response to injury, inflammation, and disease.
Karen Malacon
Neurosciences Program
Karen graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Neurobiology and a minor in Global Health and Health Policy in 2019. Her previous research explored the effects of environmental stressors and microbial and dopaminergic modulation during development on social behavior at Duke University. Karen is currently an MSTP student in the Neurosciences program, with an interest in early life immune challenge and the effects of secondary insults. In the Monje lab, she is studying the effects of non-CNS infections during early life on long-term neurocognitive dysfunction.
Rebecca Mancusi
Cancer Biology Program
Rebecca graduated from Binghamton University in 2019 with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering. Her previous research explored the interactions between cancer and its surrounding immune microenvironment. Rebecca is currently a PhD student in Stanford’s Cancer Biology program, exploring similar questions in the context of pediatric high-grade glioma. Her work in the Monje Lab aims to elucidate the role of microglia in establishing the hyperexcitable neural networks which drive glioma.
Kiarash Shamardani
Cancer Biology Program
Kiarash graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 2017 with a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology. Before joining the Cancer Biology program at Stanford, he spent two years studying the neural basis of perception at UC Berkeley. As a Ph.D. student, Kiarash is interested in a systems neuroscience approach to understanding the interaction of tumor cells and their microenvironment in brain cancer. In the Monje lab, he is studying the neuron-glioma interactions at the circuit level to discern how patterns of activity within a neuron-glioma network influences the behavior of the cancer as a whole.
Sol Savchuk
Lehi Acosta
Helena Zhang
Helena is a rising junior at Stanford studying Human Biology and Art Practice. Her research focuses on the neurodevelopment mechanisms that contribute to pediatric glioma progression. In her free time, Helena loves to draw, read, and explore the outdoors with her family and friends. She enjoys volunteering, teaching, and hopes to help others through art, science, and empathy.
Vilina Mehta
Vilina is a rising junior at Stanford studying neuroscience and cancer biology. Her in vivo drug studies research focuses on the impact of anti-epileptic drugs on glioma growth through reduction of neuronal activity and direct effects on glioma cells. Outside of the lab, Vilina enjoys writing, editing, volunteering, and playing piano.
Emmanuelle Elise Williamson
Emma is a rising sophomore at Stanford majoring in Human Biology and East Asian Studies. Her research focuses on voltage-gated calcium signaling pathways in neural stem progenitor cells (NSPCs) and the potential signaling molecules involved in these pathways. Outside of the lab, she enjoys spending time hiking, reading, and participating in Stanford's Effective Altruism group.