Dr. Hirbe graduated summa cum laude from Washington University (WU).  She then joined the MD/PhD program at WU, graduating in 2009.  Her dissertation research was performed in Dr. Kathy Weilbacher’s laboratory, where she studied the role of bone metabolism in tumor growth.  Dr. Hirbe continued her training at WU, completing an Internal Medicine residency, a Chief Resident year, and a Hematology-Oncology fellowship.  Her postdoctoral research was performed in the laboratory of Dr. David Gutmann, where she studied the molecular pathogenesis of malignant nerve sheath tumors (MPNST).  Dr. Hirbe joined the faculty in Oncology at WU in 2016, and she was recently promoted to Associate Professor of Medicine with tenure.  The focus of her independent research is to characterize the molecular pathogenesis of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) and use this information to develop novel targeted therapies. Her research identifying TYK2 as a novel target led to a clinical trial of a TYK2 inhibitor in adults with sarcoma, which is run through the Neurofibromatosis clinical network. Her work has been recognized by several national awards, including the prestigious Francis Collins Scholar award in 2017 and the Make NF Visible Researcher Award in 2023.  

Dr. Hirbe is a practicing oncologist in our Adolescent Young Adult (AYA) program and cancer predisposition clinic. She serves as Director of the Adult Neurofibromatosis Program at WU.  In this regard, she manages the care of more than 200 adult NF1 patients from 10 states and 100 counties and works closely with the Pediatric Cancer Predisposition Clinic to ensure seamless transition into the adult cancer center.  She is the PI of several clinical trials for the NF1 patient population and is the Co-Chair of the MPNST committee in the NF Clinical Trials Consortium.