Nelson LaMarche, PhD, assistant professor of pathology, will receive the V Foundation for Cancer Research 2026 Breaking Barriers in Cancer Research (V Scholar) award. The four-year grant supports faculty who are working toward permanent positions early in their cancer research careers by funding laboratory-based basic research or research that translates findings into patient care.
LaMarche’s approved project is titled, “Basophils as central drivers of pathogenic myelopoiesis in cancer.” Pathogenic myelopoiesis is when cancer cells hijack the body’s normal blood cell production to create immature, dysfunctional myeloid cells that promote tumor growth, suppress the immune system, and cause resistance to cancer therapies. This can happen in solid tumors and blood cancers. Basophils are rare white blood cells that, while making up only a small fraction of all white blood cells, play a vital role in the immune system.
LaMarche is principal investigator of the LaMarche Lab, a cancer immunology lab in the Department of Pathology and the Yale Cancer Biology Institute. The V Scholar grant will provide four years of payments to support his research on this project. The V Foundation awards five types of grants and has given nearly half a billion dollars to cancer research over 32 years.