James Millonig

James Millonig is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at Rutgers University, where he also serves as the Senior Associate Dean for the Rutgers School of Graduate Studies. He is affiliated with the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine (CABM) and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

His research focuses on understanding dorsal central nervous system (CNS) development, particularly through the integration of mouse genetics with neuroanatomy. His lab investigates how signaling centers like the roof plate coordinate CNS development through secreted factors such as Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs). A significant portion of his work examines the role of transcription factors like Lmx1a and Engrailed-2 in neural development and their potential connections to autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Dr. Millonig's recent publications demonstrate a continued focus on neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly autism spectrum disorder. His work spans from basic developmental neuroscience examining dorsal CNS formation to translational research using patient-derived neural progenitor cells. His laboratory has made significant contributions to understanding how genetic variations affect early brain development in ASD, with recent studies analyzing brain stem cells from ASD patients to identify irregularities in very early brain development.

• Autism Research Program (ARP) Idea Development Award from Department of Defense (2022)
• Standing appointment as a member of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Training and Workforce Development Subcommittee C (2020)

Dr. Millonig has secured multiple federal grants, including an ongoing project titled "Investigation of Professional Coaching as an Intervention to Support the Success of URG Biomedical Ph.D. Students" (2023-2026) funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. He has served as Principal Investigator for projects including "A Mouse Knock-In Model for ENGRAILED 2 Autism Susceptibility" funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and has been Co-Principal Investigator on the "IMSD at Rutgers - New Brunswick" project.

The Millonig Lab maintains an active research program with several graduate students and research associates. Current lab members include Stuart Cattel (Graduate Student) and Arif S W Kusuma (Graduate Fellow), with Paul Matteson serving as Research Associate I. The lab has previously trained Marcos Ayala-Rivera, Tomas Kasza, and Monal Mehta, demonstrating a strong commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists in neuroscience and developmental biology.