Education & Training

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center has a longstanding commitment to training the next generation of scientific leaders and providing professional development opportunities for our faculty. Our education and training houses educational programs for patients, providers and nurses, faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral and medical fellows, as well as internships and programs for secondary school teachers, and high school and undergraduate students.

Our programs span the biomedical disciplines and research interests pursued at Fred Hutch — from basic, human biological, clinical, and public health sciences research to a range of cancers and infectious diseases — with a commitment to increasing access and creating pathways for those trainees historically excluded.

patient education

Patient Education

Fred Hutch's patient and family education team works with experts at Fred Hutch to create resources that are clear, accurate and useful. We also rely on trusted cancer organizations to provide valuable information, including handouts on a variety of topics and links to trusted resources. Our educational resources include videos on a variety of topics and e-learnining courses explaining common side effects of cancer treatment and how to manage these side effects.

Dr. Diana Lam

Provider Professional Development

Our oncology-specific education services focus on current and emerging standards of care and treatment options along the cancer care continuum with the goal of improving patient outcomes.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center provides symposiums, webinars and other educational programs about specific disease programs focusing on advancements to diagnostic techniques and treatment modalities. Our programs feature physician speakers from Fred Hutch, UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s. 

nursing education

Nursing Professional Development

Many leadership and professional development opportunities are available to Fred Hutch nurses who are looking to expand their role or grow their skill set. Nurses may seek advanced roles within departments such as quality, regulatory affairs, education or program development. Education opportunities include webinars, scholarships, residency programs and continuing education courses.

High School, Undergraduate and Teacher Opportunities

Fred Hutch has programs and internships in many biomedical disciplines and research interests for teachers, undergraduate and high school students — creating pathways for all academic levels to gain hands-on experience at Fred Hutch. We also offer internships for student in non-research related disciplines, including marketing and program management.

Fred Hutch researcher David Hockenbery with student
Dr. David Hockenberry with Nancy Lui, a Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) participant. SURP / Fred Hutch

Post-Baccalaureate, Graduate Students, Postdoctoral Fellow and Faculty

Dr. David Fredricks offering training to a student in partnership with one of the University of Washington (UW) Departments and Programs.

Graduate & Post-baccalaureate Programs

Fred Hutch offers a wide range of training opportunities in partnership with over ten University of Washington (UW) Departments and Programs, including a UW/Fred Hutch jointly administered PhD program in Molecular and Cellular Biology Program (MCB) and Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP).

Amanda Woodward Davis is a post-doctoral research fellow who works in  the Prlic Lab at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle,  Washington. Photographed on Feb 18, 2016.

Postdoctoral Fellowships Programs

Postdoctoral fellows are found in all five research divisions at Fred Hutch. Prospective fellows should contact the faculty member with whom they would like to work. Stipends for postdoctoral fellows at Fred Hutch are at or above the NIH pay scale, and we are committed to providing similar health care packages to all fellows regardless of how they are funded.

Andrew Hsieh mentoring a health staff professional.

Faculty Professional Development

We believe that training and mentoring are essential to cultivating faculty leadership. Formal classroom training, professional development seminars, and panel discussions enable our faculty to gain the skills and knowledge they need to build and manage their research labs.

Coalition for Next Generation Life Science

We joined with nine major research universities as founding members of the Coalition for Next Generation Life Science, which provides data on outcomes of scientific training to help those who are considering a career in the biomedical sciences. Data collected at each institution includes the median time it takes to complete a Ph.D., the median time spent in postdoctoral training, the demographics of students and postdoctoral fellows, and career outcomes.

Research Ethics

We offer lectures, panel discussions, web-based training, colloquia and case study discussion groups for our faculty, staff and trainees on a variety of topics related to the responsible conduct of research. The topics range from human subjects research to the use of animals in research.

Upcoming Events

Rigor, Reproducibility and Transparency

Fred Hutch and the University of Washington have collaborated on a lecture series devoted to rigor, reproducibility, and transparency, presented by faculty from each of the several ongoing training grants at both institutions. Lectures focus on a detailed discussion of common or emerging methodologies with the aim of describing strengths, limitations, and pitfalls so that those employing or interpreting the data gain a realistic sense of what can and cannot be learned.

Upcoming Events

Education & Training Resources

screenshot of spring 2021 education training newsletter

We have a variety of education and training resources for students and prospective trainees, including Science Education Outreach resources, a trainee video series, and quarterly newsletters providing updates on the latest news coming out of the Office of Education & Training.

Fred Hutch is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Contact Us

Andrea Brocato

Director, Office of Graduate Education, Fred Hutch