LSI Seminar Series: RACing from border cell migration to an improved cancer immunotherapy

Denise Montell earned her B.A. in cell biology from the University of California, San Diego, and her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Stanford University, followed by postdoctoral studies at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. She joined the faculty of the Johns Hopkins Medical School Department of Biological Chemistry in 1992 and rose through the ranks to Full Professor. At JHUSOM, she also served as the Founding Director of the Center for Cell Dynamics. After 20 years at JHUSOM, she returned to her California roots and joined the University of California, Santa Barbara as the Duggan Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. 

Montell’s research focuses on identifying the molecular and genetic mechanisms that drive cellular behaviors such as motility, phagocytosis and stress resilience to develop novel approaches to the treatment of diseases. She served as president of the Genetics Society of America in 2020 and currently chairs the Gruber Genetics Prize committee. She is an elected fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has served on advisory councils for NIGMS, the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes. She is a two-time winner of the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award and the recipient of the 2024 E. B. Wilson Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Society for Cell Biology. In 2021 she was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences.