Brain cancer discoveries earn UVA's Sontheimer international accolade

(Press-News.org) The University of Virginia School of Medicine’s Harald Sontheimer, PhD, and Stanford’s Michelle Monje, MD, PhD, have received the 2025 International Prize in Translational Neuroscience from the Gertrud Reemtsma Foundation for their pioneering research in the emerging field of cancer neuroscience.

In announcing this year’s recipients, the foundation noted that Sontheimer and Monie’s work has “fundamentally changed our understanding of brain tumors” and opened the door to desperately needed new treatments.

The award comes with a €60,000 prize, equivalent to more than $70,000.

Sontheimer said he was “humbled and honored” to receive the prestigious prize recognizing his efforts to improve our understanding of brain cancer. “We owe it to patients with this devastating disease to provide hope for innovative treatments,” he said.

Understanding Brain Cancer

Sontheimer, of UVA Cancer Center, and Monje have helped us better understand the development of aggressive brain tumors called gliomas. They demonstrated that the activity of nerve cells called neurons can promote the growth of the tumors, while the tumors, in turn, stimulate further neuronal activity. This cycle helps to further feed the tumors’ growth and spread.

Sontheimer discovered how glioma cells use neuron-like ion channels to proliferate throughout the brain. Further, he has shown that tumor cells can trigger epileptic seizures by releasing neurotransmitters that stimulate tumor growth.

His research has revealed multiple ways gliomas increase neuronal activity. This work has laid the foundation for several clinical trials testing new treatments, and Sontheimer has co-founded multiple biotech companies that are translating neuroscience discoveries into treatments. (This type of translational research – research with direct patient benefits – is the core mission of UVA’s Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology.)

Monje, meanwhile, was the first to show that neuronal activity influences tumor growth. She discovered that glioma cells make connections, called functional synapses, with neurons so that the tumor cells are integrated into the brain’s circuitry. These tumor cells use electrical activity to spread and to resist chemotherapy. Her findings open the door for new approaches to treating brain tumors and improving the effectiveness of existing treatments.

About the Recipients

A native of Germany and naturalized American citizen, Sontheimer has been chair of UVA’s Department of Neuroscience and Harrison Distinguished Professor since 2021. He previously held positions at Virginia Tech, where he founded the School of Neuroscience, and at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he founded the Center for Glial Biology in Medicine. He earned his doctorate at the University of Heidelberg and completed his postdoctoral training at Yale. He is the author of the award-winning, widely used textbook “Diseases of the Nervous System.” He has authored more than 180 peer-reviewed publications.

Monje is a professor of neurology and researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Stanford. She obtained her MD and PhD at Stanford before completing her neurology residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School Partners program. She returned to Stanford for her clinical fellowship training in pediatric neuro-oncology. She has received numerous awards and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.

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