Monica J. Justice (nee Maxwell) is an American–Canadian developmental geneticist. She is the Canada Research Chair in Mammalian Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto and Program Head of Genetics and Genome Biology at SickKids Hospital.
Monica Justice | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kansas |
| Spouse |
Robert A. Justice (m. 1978) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | BSc, Fort Hays State University PhD, 1987, Kansas State University |
| Thesis | Specific locus applications of ethylnitrosourea mutagenesis in the mouse: genetic dissection of the t-region of mouse chromosome 17 and characterization of the enu-induced quaking and brachyury alleles (1987) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Toronto Baylor College of Medicine |
Early life and education
editJustice was born in western Kansas and was raised on the family farm.[1] Growing up, she attended Quinter High School where she was inducted into the Quinter chapter of the National Honor Society as a junior.[2] Following high school, Justice enrolled a Fort Hays State University and began working as a medical technologist at St. Francis Hospital.[3] She worked as a technologist for six year before returning to school for her PhD in developmental genetics. During her doctoral studies, she helped to pioneer chemical mutagenesis approaches in mice.[1][4] Upon completing her PhD, Justice began a postdoctoral fellowship in the Mammalian Genetics Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute.[5]
Career
editUpon completing her fellowship, Justice was recruited by Allan Bradley to join the faculty at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) to continue her research in developing high-throughput methods for assigning functions to mammalian genes.[1] As a professor of molecular and human genetics at BCM, she became a co-principal investigator on a project to develop mouse models which would enable scientists to identify the function of protein-coding genes in the mammalian genome.[6] Through a grant, Justice co-identified a mutation in a gene involved in the synthesis of cholesterol which led to the development of new treatments for Rett syndrome.[7][8]
Justice eventually left BCM to become a Canada Research Chair in Mammalian Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto and Canadian Institutes of Health Research.[9] In this role, she was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[10]
Personal life
editJustice married Robert A. Justice in 1978.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c Senior, Kathryn (July 2013). "Of Mice and Men, and Medicine: an interview with Monica Justice". Disease Models & Mechanisms. 6 (4): 871–873. doi:10.1242/dmm.011809. PMC 3701205. PMID 23828642.
- ^ "Quinter Society Pledges Members". Hays, Kansas: The Hays Daily News. January 14, 1972. Retrieved February 11, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Marriage of Maxwell / Justice". The Salina Journal. September 10, 1978. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Grant to fund special project". The Manhattan Mercury. May 13, 1984. Retrieved February 12, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Monica Justice". Sick Kids. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ Picton, Glenna (September 29, 2011). "NIH awards $34 million to Baylor College of Medicine for Knockout Mouse Project". Baylor College of Medicine. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
- ^ Picton, Glenna (July 26, 2013). "Statins improve symptoms in Rett mouse model". Baylor College of Medicine. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
- ^ "Statins suppress rett syndrome symptoms in mice". Eurekalert. July 28, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
- ^ "Monica Justice". Government of Canada. 29 November 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
- ^ "Congratulations to our staff on their recent awards and accomplishments". Sick Kids. March 22, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2022.