Kurt Schalper

Kurt Schalper, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor of Pathology at Yale School of Medicine with a secondary appointment in Medical Oncology and Hematology. He serves as Director of the Translational Immuno-Oncology Laboratory (T.I.L.) within the Yale Cancer Center and is affiliated with the Yale Center for Immuno-Oncology, the Pathology Research Program in Translational Biomedicine, and the Yale-UPR Integrated HIV Basic and Clinical Sciences Initiative.

Dr. Schalper earned his MD from San Sebastian University in 2003 and his PhD from Universidad Catolica de Chile in 2008. His research focuses on understanding the immunobiology of human solid tumors and developing molecular biomarkers for prediction of response or resistance to therapies. His laboratory actively evaluates tumor antigens and immune evasion pathways in lung malignancies, including immune co-inhibitory/stimulatory ligands and receptors, tolerogenic enzymes, immune suppressive cells, antigen presenting/processing machinery, metabolic alterations in the tumor microenvironment, and oncogenic intracellular signaling.

Analysis of Dr. Schalper's recent publications (2024-2025) reveals a strong focus on immuno-oncology, with particular emphasis on lung cancer biomarkers, mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance, tumor microenvironment analysis, and development of novel computational approaches for spatial multi-omic data. His work bridges basic science with clinical applications, as evidenced by numerous clinical trial-related publications and collaborations with leading oncologists at Yale.

Dr. Schalper maintains an active research program with significant collaboration networks, particularly with David Rimm (57 common publications), Roy Herbst (35 common publications), and Scott Gettinger (14 common publications). His laboratory is involved in multiple clinical trials, including research on mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to anti-cancer therapy for advanced lung cancer.

The Translational Immuno-Oncology Laboratory aims to produce and support high quality translational research in immuno-oncology through standardized analyses of biomarkers and cross-integration with other Yale resources. The lab's work has direct implications for improving cancer immunotherapy approaches and understanding treatment resistance mechanisms.