What we did this summer

From a new anti-CRISPR to Obliteride to a trip to Uganda, it was a busy summer for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Here’s a look at some of the exciting science and events that filled our sunny months. 

The summer started in Kampala, Uganda, where Fred Hutch President and Director Dr. Gary Gilliland traveled to the UCI-Fred Hutch Cancer Centre, which is jointly operated by the Uganda Cancer Institute and Fred Hutch’s Global Oncology program. There, he met up with Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the two discussed the link between HIV/AIDS and cancer. In sub-Saharan Africa, 33% of all cancers are caused by infectious agents, and HIV can make a person more prone to infection by other viruses that can lead to cancers.

On July 7, an event at the Seattle Mariners’ T-Mobile Park celebrated what would have been the 100^th birthday of our namesake, Fred Hutchinson, the professional baseball player and manager — and Seattle hero — who died of cancer in 1964. After his brother’s death, Seattle surgeon Bill Hutchinson created Fred Hutch as a promise to keep Fred’s legacy alive and to end cancer and related diseases as causes of human suffering and death. 

Also on the ballfield, we honored Oakland A’s slugger Stephen Piscotty in July as the winner of the 54th Hutch Award. 

Our donors had a packed summer as well.

In September, one got a chance to meet Mariners star outfielder Mitch Haniger.

Others climbed 14 mountains so far this year as part of our Climb to Fight Cancer, with one more ascent of the volcanoes of Mexico still to go later this year. 

A record number of participants registered to ride, walk and run for science in the seventh Obliteride fundraiser, raising more than $2.5 million despite an unusual early morning downpour at the start of the Aug. 7 event.  

Back on campus there was plenty of work going on, with interns ranging from high-schoolers to graduate students joining our teams in both scientific and nonscientific roles to learn from our experts. 

We increased our understanding of cancer and other diseases, sharing our findings in papers and at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago as well as other key conferences. Here are just some of the discoveries we shared over the last few months.

• The link between baby’s cells and mom’s disease risk
• Mystery solved: How graft-vs.-host disease starts in the gut
• Nanotech turns pro-tumor immune cells into cancer-killing triple agents  
• Cancer cells reconnect with their inner child to evade immunotherapy
• New study confirms the long-term benefits of a low-fat diet
• New type of viral anti-CRISPR found in human microbiome
• Fred Hutch at ASCO: HPV vaccine uptake in U.S., immunotherapy and sarcoma, financial toxicity of cancer, health care disparities and more

Our lung cancer research was accelerated by the launch of a new Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Lung Cancer supported by a $13 million grant from the National Cancer Institute.

And we celebrated the good news of numerous awards, honors and grants for our researchers that will further our efforts to find cures for cancer, HIV and other diseases. 

Now that autumn has begun, our calendars remain full of more research, the search for a new leader and events like our annual Hutch Holiday Gala.

You can keep track of our updates at Fred Hutch News and on our social channels.