Erin Digitale, Stanford News (reposted on Essinova Blog, March 1st, 2011)
Pediatric neurologist Michelle Monje led the team that became the first to create an animal model of a rare, fatal brain tumor that strikes young children.
A pediatric brain tumor that causes gruesome suffering is finally yielding its secrets. For the first time, scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have cultured human cells from this cancer, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, and used those cells to create an animal model of the disease. Their discoveries will facilitate research on new treatments for DIPG, a tumor of school-aged children that is now almost universally fatal. Read More