Special Project Grant Awarded to Michelle Monje

With ChadTough Defeat DIPG support, we have created the first Neuro-Immuno-Oncology (NIO) fellowship program. Neuro-immuno-oncology is an emerging subspecialty representing a promising therapeutic avenue for treating patients with cancers of the central nervous system (CNS). The goal of the one-year clinical NIO fellowship is to gain expertise in using immunotherapy to treat pediatric patients with brain and spinal cord tumors and to better understand and manage the neurological complications of immunotherapies such as CAR T cell therapies. Fellows round on admitted patients receiving CAR-T therapy for CNS tumors and participate in outpatient clinic visits as well, learning the neuro-critical care and neuro-immuno-oncology skillsets that are needed to manage robust immunotherapy-induced inflammation in delicate CNS structures such as the pons. At the completion of the program, each fellow will have developed the necessary clinical, research, scholarly, and teaching skills to become an academic leader in the field of neuro-immuno-oncology.