Professor Maria G. Castro’s scientific career has been driven by a longstanding commitment to understanding the molecular
and immunological mechanisms underlying brain tumors and translating these discoveries into effective therapies. She began
her academic journey in Argentina, where she earned her BSc (Hons), MSc and PhD in Biochemistry from the National
University of La Plata. During this period, she was honored with the Professor B. Houssay ‘Summa Cum Laude’ Award
(1987) from the Argentina National Academy of Medicine for the best PhD thesis in biomedical sciences, an early distinction
that shaped her commitment to impactful, translational research.

Her postdoctoral training as a Fogarty International Fellow (1986-1989) at the National Institutes of Health marked a
pivotal transition into neuroimmunology and gene therapy. This highly competitive award provided international visibility and
a strong scientific foundation for her independent career. She subsequently held academic positions in the United Kingdom,
progressing from Lecturer to Professor of Molecular Medicine, while co-directing a Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy
Unit at the University of Manchester School of Medicine and contributing to early advances in viral vector–based therapeutics.

In 2001, Professor Castro moved to the United States to join UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she held multiple
senior academic and leadership roles. These included serving as the Medallions Group Endowed Chair in Gene Therapeutics
Research (2006-2011) and as Director of the Gene Therapeutics Research Institute. Her work during this period contributed to
the development of immune-mediated gene therapy approaches for brain tumors and neurological diseases. These contributions
were recognized with several honors, including the ‘Women of Action Award’ from the Israel Cancer Research Fund (2008) for
achievements in brain cancer biology and therapeutics. Since joining the University of Michigan in 2011, Professor Castro has built and led a highly interdisciplinary and translational research program focused on the tumor microenvironment, epigenetic regulation and immunotherapy for brain cancer. She currently serves as the R.C. Schneider Collegiate Professor of Neurosurgery (2013-present) and holds appointments as Professor of Neurosurgery and Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology (2011-present).

In addition to her research and teaching roles, she provides leadership in graduate education and training as Associate Director of the Cancer Biology Graduate Program (2024-present) and as Program Director of the NIH/NCI T32 Cancer Biology Training
Grant in the Tumor Microenvironment (2018-present). She also serves as Co-Director of the Bioscience Initiative Brain
Cancer Technologies (2021-present) and as a Faculty Member and Principal Investigator at the Rogel Comprehensive Cancer
Center.

In addition, Professor Castro holds active faculty appointments and mentoring roles across multiple graduate
programs at the University of Michigan, including Cancer Biology, Immunology, Neuroscience, and the Medical Scientist
Training Program (MSTP). She contributes to institutional leadership through services on strategic planning, diversity and
faculty mentoring committees.

Her research program has been supported by one of the most prestigious NIH honors, the NIH/NINDS Javits Neuroscience
Investigator Award (2016, 2022; renewed 2025-2032), which recognizes investigators with a record of exceptional scientific
contributions and provides long-term support for innovative research. She has also been elected as a Fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (2019) and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological
Engineering (2023), two of the highest professional distinctions in science and engineering. In addition, she was elected to
the Latin American Academy of Sciences (2020), reflecting international recognition of her contributions.

At the University of Michigan, Professor Castro has been honored with the Dean’s Basic Science Research Award (2018)
for outstanding contributions to biomedical research, as well as the Rogel Cancer Center Scholar Award (2019-2024) and the
Forbes Institute Scholar Award (2020-2022). These recognitions highlight the innovation and translational impact of her work.

Her laboratory has made several seminal contributions to the field. The team developed the first genetically engineered
mouse models of mutant IDH1 glioma, uncovering how epigenetic alterations drive tumor progression and therapeutic
resistance. This work demonstrated that mutant IDH1 tumors exhibit enhanced DNA repair capacity, leading to resistance to
radiation therapy and proposed rational combination strategies now being explored translationally.

In parallel, her group has advanced the understanding of pediatric, adolescent, and young adult high-grade gliomas, particularly those harboring H3G34 mutations. By generating novel genetically engineered models, they uncovered mechanisms of genomic instability and innate immune activation, identifying therapeutic vulnerabilities such as sensitivity to radiation and activation of the STING pathway. A central focus of Professor Castro’s career has been the development of immunotherapies for brain tumors. Her team elucidated key mechanisms by which the immune system can be activated within the tumor microenvironment, including the
role of dendritic cells and endogenous danger signals such as HMGB1. These discoveries directly enabled the development
of immune-stimulatory gene therapy approaches.

One of the most impactful achievements of her career has been the successful translation of these discoveries into clinical
trials. She led an investigator-initiated Phase I clinical trial for glioblastoma, combining cytotoxic and immune-stimulatory
gene therapy, with results published in The Lancet Oncology (2023). Building on this work, her team is advancing a second
Phase I clinical trial in pediatric and young adult patients with malignant brain tumors (approved 2025), representing a critical
step toward improving outcomes in these diseases.

Throughout her career, Professor Castro has remained deeply committed to mentorship and training. She has mentored
numerous graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and clinician-scientists, many of whom now hold independent academic
and industry positions. She continues to play an active role in national and international scientific leadership, including
service on advisory boards, grant review panels, and major cancer research organizations.

In summary, Professor Castro’s career has been dedicated to advancing the understanding of brain tumor biology and
translating these insights into innovative therapies. The recognition she has received, including international fellowships,
endowed professorships, major NIH awards, and election to distinguished scientific academies, reflects the sustained impact
of her work. Moving forward, her goal remains to develop transformative immunotherapeutic strategies that improve
survival and quality of life for patients with both adult and pediatric brain cancers.