Research News

The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research has selected Justin Lathia, PhD, as a recipient of a 2026 ASPIRE Award to accelerate the discovery of novel therapeutics for glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. The one-year award will enable Dr. Lathia and his team to continue researching how biological sex influences platelet function in glioblastoma and affects responses to therapies.

Currently, there is no cure for glioblastoma, which is why researchers like Dr. Lathia focus on understanding why the tumors develop and how they could be treated more effectively.

“A wide variety of drugs that alter platelet function already exist and keep people alive. We believe that we can manipulate these drugs to treat glioblastoma like we can with other cancers,” says Dr. Lathia. “Over the next year, with financial support from The Mark Foundation, we’re going to work rigorously to prove that belief as we pursue new, more effective treatments.”

The Mark Foundation partners with scientists to advance research that will transform cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The initiative to focus on glioblastoma is a partnership with The Sontag Foundation and a coalition of philanthropic organizations and nonprofit funders of brain tumor research. ASPIRE Awards support innovative, high-risk, high-reward projects that have the potential to solve some of the most prominent problems in cancer research, and help advance that research from bench to bedside.

Dr. Lathia attributes the receipt of this award to the team-science approach that Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Research enable. He also highlights the contributions of physician-scientists like Scott Cameron, MD, PhD, and Alok A. Khorana, MD, who have connected him with patient cohorts and helped him see and understand the impact of platelets firsthand. In addition, he credits VeloSano, Cleveland Clinic’s cancer research fundraising movement, for their initial financial support. VeloSano supports groundbreaking research by directing funds to the highest priorities—accelerating the delivery of lifesaving treatments to patients as swiftly as possible.

Over the next year, he and his lab team members will test their theory that treating glioblastoma with manipulated drugs will only work in females. Dr. Lathia hopes that the team could organize an early-phase clinical trial based on this research, to potentially launch in 2027 or 2028. That, he says, would be a “home run.”

“In my view, The Mark Foundation is a premier cancer research foundation that has supported some of the most innovative science in the country,” Dr. Lathia says. “We’re extremely grateful to have their support at such a critical time in this project.”

The full announcement about the ASPIRE Awards, including the list of awardees and their projects, is available on The Mark Foundation’s website.