The Stanford Division of Child Neurology News
News
Dr. Shannon Beres Honored with 2025 Silverman Award for Excellence in Community Partnerships
Dr. Shannon Beres has been named the 2025 recipient of the Silverman Award, recognizing her impactful contributions to the lives of children with vision impairments and their families. Presented at the Lowenfeld-Akeson Symposium, Dr. Beres' dedication to enhancing educational and therapeutic knowledge exemplifies the spirit of the award, which honors the legacy of Dr. William Silverman and his commitment to improving care for vulnerable populations.
Practice doesn’t always make perfect
Groundbreaking research from Stanford Medicine sheds light on how adaptive myelination — a brain process linked to learning — can be co-opted by seizures, exacerbating epilepsy. Led by Dr. Juliet Knowles, this study opens new avenues for potential therapies targeting maladaptive myelination. With nearly 30% of children with epilepsy facing challenges with conventional treatments, this discovery represents hope for more effective, personalized options on the horizon.
Stanford Researchers Discover Tumor's Link to Nervous System, Opening New Treatment Avenues
Stanford Medicine's Dr. Michelle Monje reveals that aggressive brain tumors, like Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), can hijack nervous system signals to promote growth by forming electrical connections with healthy brain cells. Her team is investigating FDA-approved neurological drugs that could disrupt these connections, offering new hope for treating these challenging cancers. This innovative research enhances our understanding of brain tumors and paves the way for targeted therapies in oncology.
Non-invasive brain stimulation opens new ways to study and treat the brain
Researchers at Stanford’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute are pioneering innovative non-invasive methods to study and treat complex brain conditions, eliminating the need for invasive procedures. By leveraging technologies such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and focused ultrasound, these advances aim to transform patient care, making neurological treatments safer and more accessible than ever before.
Cell therapy fights lethal childhood brain cancer in Stanford Medicine trial
CAR-T cells show promise against pediatric diffuse midline gliomas, brain and spinal cord tumors that are among the deadliest cancers, a Stanford Medicine trial found.
2024 Grant Recipients- Juliet Knowles & Zach Grinspan
Dr. Juliet Knowles, MD, PhD, and Dr. Zach Grinspan, MD, MS, were awarded a Cure LGS 365 Grant for their study "Leveraging PELHS To Identify Risk Factors For Infantile Epileptic Spasm Syndrome (IESS) To Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) Progression." LGS is a severe form of epilepsy that begins in childhood and is associated with lifelong treatment-refractory seizures and disability.
NINDS K12 Child Neurology Career Development Awardee
Congratulations to Rebecca Levy MD, PhD on being named a CNCDP-K12 scholar beginning July 2024. Dr. Levy is a pediatric neurogeneticist and a physician-scientist who applies neural organoid models to understand and hopefully treat neurogenetic disorders of brain development. Her current focus is on the gene CACNA1C which codes for a calcium channel in the heart and the brain. Dr. Levy is the 5th NINDS K12 Child Neurology Career Development awardee in 7 years at Stanford. Other awardees include Juliet Knowles, Autumn Ivy, Elizabeth Mayne and Isha Srivastava. This is testimony to what an elite group of trainees and early investigators we have and how Stanford has become one of the very top programs nationally for early scholars. Congratulations!!
Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford Awarded Magnet® Recognition
Stanford Medicine Children’s Health announced that it has once again achieved Magnet recognition. This designation reflects its exemplary professional nursing practice, interprofessional teamwork and preeminent patient care. The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program® distinguishes organizations that meet rigorous standards for nursing excellence.
2023 Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Award
Congratulations to Juliet Knowles, MD, PhD for receiving a McKnight Foundation 2023 Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Award for her work "Neuron-to-OPC synapses in adaptive and maladaptive myelination"
MacArthur Award goes to Dr. Monje
Michelle Monje, MD, PhD has been named one of the 2021 MacArthur Fellows for her pioneering work in pediatric brain cancers. Dr. Monje is opening new pathways for the study of cancer pathogenesis with the potential to transform treatment of brain cancers.
Stanford’s Rhiju Das, Michelle Monje and Kristy Red-Horse announced as Howard Hughes investigators
Stanford University researchers who study three-dimensional structures of biological molecules, aggressive brain cancers and how to heal diseased hearts are among 33 scientists from 21 institutions announced as new Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators. The Stanford faculty members are Kristy Red-Horse, associate professor of biology at the School of Humanities and Sciences, Rhiju Das, associate professor of biochemistry, and Michelle Monje, associate professor of neurology.
2023 Paul Marks Prize
Michelle Monje, MD, PhD is one of the 2023 winners of The Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research. This prize recognizes a new generation of leaders in cancer research who are making significant contributions to the understanding of cancer or are improving the treatment of the disease through basic or clinical research. The prize is intended to encourage young investigators who have a unique opportunity to help shape the future of cancer research. Congratulations, Dr. Monje!
Identifying racial disparities in the treatment of infantile spasms
Do race, ethnicity, or insurance status impact treatments prescribed for infantile spasms? At this week’s 50th annual Child Neurology Society meeting in Boston, Dr. Fiona Baumer will present findings from her multicenter study to assess potential treatment selection bias for this catastrophic childhood epilepsy. Dr. Baumer analyzed data from 555 children enrolled in the National Infantile Spasms Consortium to identify factors associated with receipt of standard therapies, which have been proven to be more effective. After adjusting for etiology and medical variables, the analysis showed that children with public insurance were much less likely to receive standard therapy as first-line treatment as compared to children with private insurance (Odds Ratio 0.45). In cases where first-line treatment failed, Black children were less likely to receive a standard treatment as second-line therapy than white children (OR 0.36). Raising awareness of this potential bias is an important first step toward reducing disparities in care for these children.
From loss comes hope: Pediatric brain tumor treatment shows promise
Research from early clinical trials of pediatric glioma patients shows that altered immune cells can fight the deadly brainstem tumor.
Dunlevie Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education
Congratulations to Paul Graham Fisher, MD, Professor of Neurology & Neurological Sciences for his reappointment to another 5 year term as Dunlevie Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education. Fisher teaches the popular undergraduate classes “Cancer Epidemiology” and “The Human Organism” in Human Biology. He was the Bing Director of Human Biology from 2012 through 2019.
Pediatric Epilepsy Research Foundation Elterman Research Grant
Congratulations to Juliet Knowles, MD, PhD, Instructor of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, the 2020 PERF Elterman Research Grant Recipient for her project "Targeting Aberrant Activity-Dependent Myelination in Absence Epilepsy".
National Academy of Medicine Elects 100 New Members
Michelle Monje, MD, PhD was elected as a NAM member - considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health & medicine recognizing individuals who demonstrate outstanding professional achievement & commitment to service.
Helping a child's brain to heal
A rare genetic disorder left an infant with debilitating seizures and developmental delays. The medicines weren't working, but the family and their team of doctors at Stanford Children's Health, including Dr. Brenda Porter and Dr. Gerald Grant, refused to give up hope.
Mom’s fundraising helps advance research into deadly brain tumor
Bereaved mother Mycah Clemons raised money for a summer scholarship at Stanford for research on diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. The move sparked a series of experiments that have led to a possible treatment for the tumor.
Altered immune cells clear childhood brain tumor in mice
In mice, a fatal brainstem tumor was cleared by injecting it with engineered T cells that recognized the cancer and targeted it for destruction. The Stanford discovery is moving to human trials.