Dr. Bornhorst is a Neuro-Oncologist and head of the Neurofibromatosis (NF) oncology program at Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and an Associate Professor in the Stanley Manne Research Institute, Northwestern University Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Bornhorst is also Max Lacewell Endowed Brain Tumor Research Scholar

In the clinic, she primarily cares for patients with Neurofibromatosis or other predisposition to develop tumors/cancer. She is the institutional PI for many of the Mek-inhibitor and targeted treatment studies for patients with NF.

Her laboratory research focuses on the identification of novel genomic and metabolomic biomarkers in patients with central and peripheral nervous system tumors, particularly in patients who have cancer predisposition syndromes and brain tumors. She has been a part of GFAC since 2016, first at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC (2016-2023) and now at Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Recent and Notable Publications

Bornhorst M, Hwang EI. Molecularly Targeted Agents in the Therapy of Pediatric Brain Tumors. Paediatr Drugs. 2020 Feb;22(1):45-54. doi: 10.1007/s40272-019-00369-z. PMID: 31749132. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31749132/

Raskin S, Bornhorst M. Biological Treatments of Neurofibromatosis Type 2 and Other Skull Base Disorders. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2021 Aug;54(4):789-801. doi: 10.1016/j.otc.2021.05.004. Epub 2021 Jun 11. PMID: 34120747. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34120747/

Lee S, Kambhampati M, Almira-Suarez MI, Ho CY, Panditharatna E, Berger SI, Turner J, Van Mater D, Kilburn L, Packer RJ, Myseros JS, Vilain E, Nazarian J, Bornhorst M. Somatic Mosaicism of IDH1 R132H Predisposes to Anaplastic Astrocytoma: A Case of Two Siblings. Front Oncol. 2020 Jan 14;9:1507. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2019.01507. PMID: 32010615; PMCID: PMC6971203. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32010615/

Bonner ER, Bornhorst M, Packer RJ, Nazarian J. Liquid biopsy for pediatric central nervous system tumors. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2018 Dec 17;2:29. doi: 10.1038/s41698-018-0072-z. PMID: 30588509; PMCID: PMC6297139. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30588509/