Spotlight on Niki Robinson

Dr. Niki Robinson is responsible for organizational strategy, operational excellence, and the safety and wellbeing of Fred Hutch employees and community. She leads several administrative teams that support and accelerate Hutch science. These include Human Resources, Marketing & Communications, Strategic Planning, Government & Community Relations, Business Development, Internal Audit & Risk Management, Center Information Technology, Clinical Research, and Facilities & Campus Operations.

As part of the Director’s Office, Robinson leads the Hutch’s strategic planning efforts, working with departments and scientific divisions throughout the organization to ensure that the Hutch is positioned to achieve its mission and goals.

Until January 2022, Robinson was vice president and deputy chief operating officer, a role she assumed at the start of 2020. She first came to the Hutch to serve as vice president of business development and industry relations.

“Since arriving at the Hutch in June 2015, Niki has demonstrated remarkable leadership and commitment to our science and the pursuit of our mission,” said Fred Hutch President and Director and Raisbeck Endowed Chair holder Dr. Thomas J. Lynch, when Robinson’s new role was announced in 2021. “She brings an intense focus to organizational strategy, operational excellence, and the safety and wellbeing of our employees and community.”

Prior to joining Fred Hutch in 2015, Robinson led business development at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She began her career in technology transfer at the University of Chicago, where she also received her PhD in cell physiology. The lifelong science lover fell in love with the exploration behind basic biological research in college. Later, she realized that her true interests lay in how to translate those research discoveries to help patients, she said in a 2015 Fred Hutch profile.