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A shelf in the office of Fred Hutch Cancer Center physician and professor Andrew Hsieh, MD, is lined with champagne bottles. Each one commemorates a milestone for his team: a published paper, a research grant.
Scientific progress, Hsieh said, rarely happens all at once. It is built from pairing bold ideas with persistent work and comes one small victory at a time.
“I think you have to, in science, celebrate the big moments, but you have to celebrate all the little incremental moments too,” Hsieh said.
This year, Hsieh, who serves as the associate director of Fred Hutch’s Human Biology Division, has another champagne-popping milestone to celebrate. He was named the inaugural holder of the Larry and Virginia Gordon Endowed Chair in Prostate and Bladder Cancer Research. The endowed chair, created by the generous support of Larry and Virginia Gordon, recognizes Hsieh’s leadership in advancing discoveries on genitourinary cancers and provides flexible funding to pursue innovative ideas that could lead to better treatments for patients.
Working toward meaningful advances in bladder and prostate cancer research
For Hsieh, a leading expert in genitourinary cancers who joined Fred Hutch in 2014, taking the long view has shaped his career as both a physician and researcher.
One of his landmark findings — which revealed how bladder cancer suppresses cancer-fighting mechanisms in healthy cells — took eight years. That discovery laid the foundation for developing new drugs that could transform survivorship outcomes.
Fred Hutch’s emphasis on sustaining long-term research efforts was one of the things that drew him to the center, in addition to its collaborative environment, expertise in prostate cancer, and support for scientific growth. While his research had primarily focused on prostate cancer, his clinical work treating bladder cancer inspired him to expand his research and Fred Hutch’s work in the field. Since then, the number of bladder cancer researchers at Fred Hutch has grown from about six to over 30.
Hsieh also helped launch a rapid autopsy program for bladder cancer, in which patients can donate their tissue for studies of bladder tumor architecture and heterogeneity. These samples help Fred Hutch scientists understand treatment resistance and identify new therapeutic targets.
Now, building on the foundation he created through this program, Fred Hutch has begun construction on a new research autopsy facility as part of the Stuart and Molly Sloan Precision Oncology Institute. The facility will first onboard breast and pancreas cancer program teams and then expand into a pan-oncology, or multi-cancer, resource.
“Andrew is a visionary researcher in bladder and prostate cancer,” said Fred Hutch President and Director Thomas J. Lynch Jr., MD, holder of the Raisbeck Endowed Chair. “This generous contribution from Larry and Virginia Gordon will allow him to continue following bold ideas that push the boundaries of what’s possible in cancer care and outcomes.”
That kind of support — the annual funds that come with the endowed chair — is especially valuable as scientists work to develop new approaches in prevention, diagnostics, treatment and survivorship that could ultimately benefit patients.
“It means we can take risks in terms of projects,” Hsieh said. “Instead of saying, ‘We don’t have the money to ask that exciting question,’ we can actually try to answer those questions through experimentation.”
Hsieh plans to use his endowed chair funds for high-risk, high-reward research. He plans to develop new methods to study mRNA translation and cancer heterogeneity and metastasis, which may lead to the development of new therapeutics. In addition, he plans to invest in continued career development for the trainees and staff scientists whose work helps drive discoveries in his lab.
A commitment to advancing scientific breakthroughs
Larry and Virginia Gordon have been contributing to Fred Hutch for nearly three decades, primarily through unrestricted gifts, which allow funds to be directed where they’re needed most immediately.
Several years ago, Virginia Gordon was treated for breast cancer at Fred Hutch. The couple said that the quality of care she received during her treatment — she’s now cancer-free — was a big driver of their support for Fred Hutch research. More recently, following Larry Gordon’s diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer, they felt a pull to make an impact by advancing research for this difficult-to-treat cancer.
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The first time the Gordons met Hsieh at a Fred Hutch event, they were struck by his compassion, expertise and work ethic. Larry Gordon’s questions about prostate cancer led to an interesting conversation about Hsieh’s research.
“I found him very personable and very knowledgeable,” Larry Gordon said.
Soon after their initial conversation, the Gordons visited Hsieh’s lab. Hsieh showed them ongoing projects and introduced them to the graduate students and postdoctoral fellows on his team, who each shared a one-slide overview of the investigations they were leading. The Gordons were impressed.
“There’s little or no doubt in my mind that those funds will be used in a meaningful way for him and his team,” said Larry Gordon.
The Gordons believe that combining a good team, a growth mindset and sustained investment can lead to key breakthroughs and build momentum that drives even greater progress. Their trucking business, which they operated for several decades before selling it in 2013, began as a two-truck operation in the state of Washington and grew into the nation’s 20th-largest carrier. Larry Gordon led operations, and Virginia Gordon ran the administrative side.
“It was really a joint effort,” he said. The couple knows that supporting a dedicated, collaborative team can yield a big impact. It was clear to Larry Gordon that the people on Hsieh’s team “work hard every day trying to find answers.”
Endowed chairs are among the highest honors awarded to Fred Hutch faculty members and provide long-term funding that empowers scientists to work on ideas with transformative potential. More than 60 endowed chairs have been established at Fred Hutch, recognizing outstanding faculty members and helping advance innovative research. Endowment gifts are critical to the institution’s long-term sustainability and are a cornerstone of the Campaign for Fred Hutch, which is bringing together supporters to accelerate the pace and scale of discovery. The Larry and Virginia Gordon Endowed Chair in Prostate and Bladder Cancer Research is one of 25 endowed chairs supported through matching funds provided by the Anniversary Challenge.
For Hsieh, the endowed chair represents both an honor and an opportunity to keep looking ahead.
“It means a lot,” Hsieh said. “As a human being, it is really nice to see that people will do things for the good of others.”
