This year at Fred Hutch Cancer Center has been extraordinary — not only for the groundbreaking research and compassionate care that define our mission, but also because we marked a historic milestone: our 50th anniversary. Throughout 2025, we’ve captured moments that showcase the dedication of our colleagues, supporters and community as we care for those in our community who need our expertise and push the boundaries of cancer and infectious disease research.
We honored five decades of progress and innovation — achievements that have transformed lives around the world — and looked ahead to the next era of discovery and care. Together, we’re building on this legacy to make the next extraordinary leaps possible.
Work continued in our many labs this year on hundreds of projects and studies to uncover the functions that drive cancer and infectious diseases that can lead to new treatments or cures. Steven Henikoff, PhD, above, won a prestigious award from Brandeis University recognizing his “innovative and transformative studies” on gene expression.
This year, Fred Hutch turned the big 5-0 and celebrated all year long with stories highlighting the people and moments that have truly defined the organization. From groundbreaking science to compassionate care, Fred Hutch has spent five decades improving lives and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
Our outpatient complex serving more than 60,000 adult patients per year was renamed the Sloan Clinic in recognition of Stuart and Molly Sloan. Their generous support of the Campaign for Fred Hutch is expanding research that can lead to new targeted therapies for patients.
More than 70,000 patients received care here in our fiscal year 2025 and our clinical care teams continued to advance our efforts. We introduced artificial intelligence to improve patient visits as well as for procedures such as colonoscopies.
Collaboration and respect are two of our values. That comes to life each day at Fred Hutch in all kinds of ways, from explaining a new insight to colleagues at a poster session or outlining a treatment plan for a patient.
Fred Hutch's Obliteride included more than 5,000 cyclists, walkers, runners and volunteers for the annual fundraising bike ride and 5K walk/run.
Throughout the year, generous support from our community added to the momentum of Fred Hutch's first 50 years of breakthroughs, fueling the next generation of groundbreaking discoveries. More than 40,000 supporters joined the Campaign for Fred Hutch.
Hundreds of students, teachers, providers and nurses, faculty, postdoctoral and medical fellows, participated in our education and training programs to create the next generation of scientific and clinical leaders. We also worked to ensure that our patients and caregivers have the understanding needed to navigate a diagnosis and treatment.
Many people spend decades working at Fred Hutch. Bone marrow transplant pioneer Rainer Storb, MD, spent almost two lifetimes, stepping away after more than 60 years.
Fred Hutch's leadership navigated a challenging environment while planning for the future where cancer diagnoses are expected to increase in the United States and the Pacfic Northwest, according to estimates from the American Cancer Society.
Therapeutic genetic engineering has the potential to cure diseases, but today is limited due to the cost and complexity of delivering them to patients. Fred Hutch bioengineer Matthias Stephan, PhD, is exploring whether foam could one day turn gene therapy into an outpatient procedure.
Each day, many of our patients complete their therapy and leave our clinics, hopefully for good. Throughout the year, researchers are completing a research project or clinicians finalizing a diagnosis. For a few Fred Hutch folks, this year also marked the completion of a career.
Here the most read articles we published on Fred Hutch News in 2025 through December 18.
Thank you for reading Fred Hutch News this year and follow our social channels for more amazing stories. And read more (or watch or listen) about our dynamic storytelling evolution.
Sign up to receive our monthly Fred Hutch newsletter.
Are you interested in reprinting or republishing this story? Be our guest! We want to help connect people with the information they need. We just ask that you link back to the original article, preserve the author’s byline and refrain from making edits that alter the original context. Questions? Email us at communications@fredhutch.org
Every dollar counts. Please support lifesaving research today.
For the Media