Monica J. Justice (''nee'' Maxwell) is an American–Canadian developmental geneticist. She is the

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Mammalian Molecular Genetics at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and Program Head of Genetics and Genome Biology at SickKids Hospital.

Early life and education

Justice was born in western

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and was raised on the family farm. Growing up, she attended Quinter High School where she was inducted into the Quinter chapter of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

as a junior, and was the graduating class valedictorian. Following high school, Justice enrolled at

Fort Hays State University Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is a public university in Hays, Kansas, United States. It is the largest university in western Kansas, and the fourth largest of the six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents, with a total ...

, received her MT(ASCP) from St. Francis Hospital, Wichita, Kansas and began working as a medical technologist at St. Francis Hospital. She worked as a medical technologist for six years before returning to school at Kansas State University for her PhD in developmental genetics. During her doctoral studies, she helped to pioneer chemical mutagenesis approaches in mice. Upon completing her PhD, Justice began a postdoctoral fellowship in the Mammalian Genetics Laboratory at the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

Career

Upon completing her fellowship, Justice held faculty positions at Kansas State University, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Justice was then recruited by Allan Bradley to join the faculty at

Baylor College of Medicine The Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a private medical school in Houston, Texas, United States. Originally as the Baylor University College of Medicine from 1903 to 1969, the college became independent with the current name and has been se ...

(BCM), Houston, Texas to continue her research in developing high-throughput methods for assigning functions to mammalian genes. 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. 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 Rett syndrome (RTT) is a genetic disorder that typically becomes apparent after 6–18 months of age and almost exclusively in girls. Symptoms include impairments in language and coordination, and repetitive movements. Those affected often h ...

. Justice was recruited to The Hospital for Sick Children as the Program Head of Genetics and Genome Biology, where she was also awarded the position of

in Mammalian Molecular Genetics at the

and

Canadian Institutes of Health Research The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; ; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada. CIHR supports ...

. In 2016, she was elected a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

for her contributions to mouse genetics.

Personal life

Justice married Robert A. Justice in 1978, and has one daughter. They divorced in 1992. Justice married Thomas Crosby in 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Justice, Monica J. Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Scientists from Kansas Canadian women geneticists Canadian geneticists American geneticists Academic staff of the University of Toronto Canada Research Chairs Kansas State University alumni Fort Hays State University alumni Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Year of birth missing (living people)