Professor research guide
Research at the intersection of neurodevelopment, glioma biology, neural activity, tumor microenvironment signaling, cancer neuroscience, and mechanism-guided therapies.
Official profile ↗Independent educational guide. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the universities, professors or laboratories described here. This collection reflects the material currently mapped on Socratic Learn.
Research at the intersection of neurodevelopment, glioma biology, neural activity, tumor microenvironment signaling, cancer neuroscience, and mechanism-guided therapies.
9 lessons · ~50 minutes
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Research primer
9 lessons · ~50 minutes
An independent primer on cancer evolution, Hallmarks of Cancer, the tumor microenvironment, pediatric glioma, neuron-to-cancer signaling, and emerging therapeutic strategies.
Interpret activity-dependent growth and conditional NLGN3 dependence.
Explain tumor change through clonal variation and selection.
Evaluate preclinical findings, retrospective associations, and neural treatment effects.
Combine controlled perturbations and recordings to strengthen causal claims.
Relate diffuse midline glioma to developmental cell states.
Keep enabling characteristics and proposed new dimensions distinct from core capabilities.
Match experimental methods to structure, activity, and cell-state questions.
Separate functional synaptic evidence from cell identity.
Distinguish transmitter mechanisms and tumor-specific electrical responses.
Distinguish H3K27-altered midline tumors and the pontine DIPG clinical label.
Distinguish hallmark capabilities from individual genes.
Distinguish general carcinoma stroma from the brain tumor microenvironment.
Relate invasion, metabolic change, immune escape, and plasticity to cancer behavior.
Distinguish early GD2 CAR T activity from established clinical efficacy.
Explain NLGN3-CSPG4 mechanotransduction within tested models.
Distinguish oncogenes, tumor suppressors, and heterogeneous cell states.
Explain telomere maintenance and inducing or accessing blood vessels.
Describe a tumor as interacting malignant and nonmalignant populations.
Cell · 2015
Venkatesh HS, Johung TB, Caretti V, et al., Monje M
Why this matters: Links controlled neuronal activity and secreted growth factors in mouse glioma models.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.04.012
Nature · 2017
Venkatesh HS, Tam LT, Woo PJ, et al., Monje M
Why this matters: Tests NLGN3 dependency and shedding, with escape and model scope relevant.
DOI: 10.1038/nature24014
Nature · 2019
Venkatesh HS, Morishita W, Geraghty AC, et al., Monje M
Why this matters: Combines synaptic structure and functional electrical recordings in subsets of tumor cells.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1563-y
Nature · 2023
Taylor KR, Barron T, Hui A, et al., Monje M
Why this matters: Shows preclinical recruitment of BDNF-TrkB and receptor-trafficking mechanisms.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06678-1
Nature · 2025
Barron T, Yalçın B, Su M, et al., Kaila K, Monje M
Why this matters: Shows that chloride regulation can make GABA depolarizing in DMG models.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08579-3
Cell · 2025
Drexler R, Drinnenberg A, Gavish A, et al., Deisseroth K, Monje M
Why this matters: Supports muscarinic growth signaling; published abstract and preprint details were checked, not proof of cholinergic synapses.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.05.031
Nat Neurosci · 2026
Kim YS, Gillespie SM, Geraghty AC, et al., Trotter J, Monje M
Why this matters: Connects binding, membrane tension, and electrical/growth responses while implicating normal OPC biology.
DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02397-8
Nat Med · 2026
Barron T, Drexler R, Mochizuki A, et al., Koschmann C, Monje M
Why this matters: Combines preclinical benefits and retrospective associations; prospective clinical efficacy remains to be tested.
DOI: 10.1038/s41591-026-04646-6
Cancer Cell · 2023
Hanahan D, Monje M
Why this matters: A perspective placing neural components in the tumor ecosystem, not declaring a new official hallmark.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.02.012
Cell · 2023
Winkler F, Venkatesh HS, Amit M, et al
Why this matters: Reviews diverse mechanisms and translational questions without flattening tumor contexts.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.02.002
Science · 2018
Filbin MG, Tirosh I, Hovestadt V, et al
Why this matters: Characterizes developmental cell states without proving a universal cell of origin.
DOI: 10.1126/science.aao4750
Nature · 2025
Monje M, Mahdi J, Majzner R, et al., Mackall C
Why this matters: Reports small phase-one clinical activity and serious toxicity; not established cure or comparative efficacy.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08171-9
Nat Med · 2018
Mount CW, Majzner RG, Sundaresh S, et al., Mackall CL, Monje M
Why this matters: Provides preclinical rationale, with animal effects separate from clinical outcomes.
DOI: 10.1038/s41591-018-0006-x
Cell · 2019
Gibson EM, Nagaraja S, Ocampo A, et al., Monje M
Why this matters: Studies treatment-related glial effects in a preclinical setting.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.10.049
Cell · 2025
Geraghty AC, Acosta-Alvarez L, Rotiroti MC, et al., Monje M
Why this matters: Examines mouse neural effects; this is not evidence of human cognitive rescue.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.03.041
Cancer Discov · 2022
Hanahan D
Why this matters: Distinguishes eight core capabilities from proposed plasticity and other new dimensions in the 2022 framework.
DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-21-1059