Neuro-Immuno-Oncology Fellowship Program

Project Overview
In May 2021, ChadTough Defeat DIPG approved a two-year, $218,000 grant to establish the first-of-its-kind Neuro-Immuno-Oncology (NIO) Fellowship Program at Stanford University under the direction of Dr. Michelle Monje.

Neuro-immuno-oncology is an emerging subspecialty focused on the use of immune-based therapies to treat cancers of the central nervous system (CNS). This fellowship was designed to train oncologists and neuro oncologists in the safe and effective delivery of immunotherapies—particularly CAR T cell therapies—for children with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) and other diffuse midline gliomas (DMG).

The one-year clinical fellowship provides advanced, hands-on training in caring for patients receiving CAR-T therapy for CNS tumors, both in inpatient and outpatient settings. Fellows develop specialized expertise in managing immunotherapy-related neurologic complications, including inflammation in delicate CNS structures such as the pons. By the end of the program, fellows are equipped with the clinical, research, scholarly, and teaching skills necessary to become academic leaders in this rapidly evolving field.

Impact & Outcomes
With ChadTough Defeat DIPG support, the NIO Fellowship Program has:

• Created a formal clinical training pathway in neuro-immuno-oncology
• Directly supported cutting-edge CAR T clinical trials in DIPG and DMG
• Generated peer-reviewed research that is shaping how immunotherapy-related neurotoxicity is recognized and managed
• Trained physician-scientists who now hold faculty positions and continue to advance the field

In February 2023, Stanford University’s Graduate Medical Education Committee formally approved the NIO Fellowship Program’s Non-Standard Training Recognition, validating the program’s clinical and educational importance.

Graduate Highlights
Jasia Mahdi, MD
Inaugural Fellow – Graduated July 2022

Dr. Jasia Mahdi served as the first Neuro-Immuno-Oncology Fellow and played a critical role in advancing the clinical application of GD2 CAR T cell therapy for DIPG and spinal DMG. Her clinical experience directly informed a landmark, multi-institutional research effort to define tumor inflammation-associated neurotoxicity (TIAN)—a newly characterized syndrome involving localized neurologic dysfunction and edema during immunotherapy-induced inflammation.

This work resulted in a consensus grading scale for TIAN and was published in Nature Medicine in April 2023. The framework has significantly improved the recognition and management of immunotherapy-related toxicities in children with brain tumors, helping clinicians deliver these therapies more safely and effectively.

Following graduation, Dr. Mahdi was promoted to Clinical Instructor at Stanford, where she continued to serve in vital clinical, teaching, and research roles, with a specific focus on the ongoing GD2 CAR T clinical trial.

Kun-Wei Song, MD
Second Fellow – Graduated July 2023

Dr. Kun-Wei Song completed the fellowship as the program’s second graduate, contributing directly to the ongoing Phase I GD2 CAR T clinical trial for DIPG and spinal DMG. As patient enrollment expanded, Dr. Song led new scholarly efforts focused on understanding radiographic microhemorrhage burden in DIPG patients.

Her research examines how microhemorrhages evolve over time and whether CAR T cell therapy influences hemorrhage risk—work that is critical for improving both patient monitoring and trial design. Dr. Song’s efforts are also helping lay the groundwork for expanding GD2 CAR-T trials to young adults over age 21, extending potential benefit beyond pediatric patients.

Upon graduation, Dr. Song was promoted to Clinical Instructor and continued to contribute to clinical care, teaching, and research in neuro-immuno-oncology at Stanford.

Looking Ahead
The long-term goal of the Neuro-Immuno-Oncology Fellowship Program is to build a national workforce of clinicians trained to deliver and manage immunotherapy for childhood brain tumors such as DIPG and DMG.

The program will continue to recruit fellows committed to both clinical care and scholarly research, accelerating the safe adoption of immunotherapy approaches and expanding access to these promising treatments across institutions.