Since its launch in 1975, Fred Hutch Cancer Center has pioneered research breakthroughs impacting cancer, infectious disease and other health threats. In its relatively short history, it’s been home to three Nobel laureates (more than any other independent cancer center) and is the top cancer care provider in Washington state. Founded by cancer surgeon Dr. Bill Hutchinson and named for his baseball star brother Fred, who died of cancer at the age of 45, Fred Hutch Cancer Center is dedicated to providing better futures for patients and their families.
Each person diagnosed with cancer faces a disease that is unique to them. At Fred Hutch, care includes expert diagnostic discovery that is then matched with the latest insights and options to create a personalized treatment plan. And Fred Hutch researchers and physicians continue to strive for discoveries, ensuring the most advanced and effective treatments for patients.
The organization set a high bar for breakthroughs early. Dr. E. Donnall Thomas, Fred Hutch’s first medical oncology director, developed the first successful procedure for bone marrow transplantation — essentially an immune system transplant — as a way to treat previously incurable blood cancers. This advance earned Thomas a Nobel Prize.
Since that first repeatable bone marrow transplant, Fred Hutch has gone on to treat more than 20,000 people with bone marrow transplants and other types of immunotherapy pioneered by the organization.
As of 2026, more than two million blood and marrow stem cell transplants have been performed worldwide.
And Fred Hutch scientists have tackled many other cancers. Of the more than 100 recognized cancer types, Fred Hutch research has made at least 19 of them more curable.
Drs. Fred Appelbaum and Rainer Storb, along with Thomas, developed bone and stem-cell marrow transplantation for 10 separate blood/lymph cancers (AML, ALL, CML, CLL, MDS, MPN, myelofibrosis, multiple myeloma, Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma), substantially extending the lives of patients with these deadly diseases. Appelbaum holds the Metcalfe Family/Frederick Appelbaum Endowed Chair in Cancer Research.
Molecular biologist Dr. Denise Galloway and colleagues discovered that the virus HPV was the driving force behind six different cancers (cervical, oropharyngeal, anal, vaginal, vulvar and penile), helping to enable the development of vaccines that have had a significant positive impact around the world. These vaccines are helping Australia and Scotland be on track as the first countries to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem within the next two decades.
Patients are achieving complete remission in advanced and metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma because of the work of Fred Hutch researchers Drs. Paul Nghiem and Aude Chapuis on immune checkpoint inhibitors and combination immunotherapies. Their work marks a paradigm shift in a rare skin cancer that’s three times as deadly as melanoma. Nghiem holds the George F. Odland Endowed Chair in Dermatology, UW School of Medicine; Chapuis holds the John C. and Karyl Kay Hughes Foundation Endowed Chair.
Fred Hutch clinical researcher and gastroenterologist Dr. William Grady helped validate the first FDA-approved blood test for primary colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. The test detected 83% of CRCs in average-risk adults and could expand screening among people who might otherwise avoid stool-based testing or colonoscopy — potentially leading to more cancers being found at earlier, more treatable stages.
Holder of the Rosalie and Harold Rea Brown Endowed Chair, Dr. Ruth Etzioni’s expertise in biostatistics and modeling definitively proved the benefits of properly implemented PSA-based screening for prostate cancer, showing that it’s lowered the mortality rate by 25 to 32%, and directly informing new prostate screening guidelines. The five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with the disease now sits at 98%. Additional work by Fred Hutch researchers have helped shift the field toward active surveillance and risk stratification, “precision screening” practices that promote long-term outcomes and avoid overtreatment.
Many other Fred Hutch individuals — physicians, scientists and patients — have contributed to cancer treatments that are much less toxic and much more effective, offering patients both quality of life and in many cases, more life itself. From the lab to the exam room and at every juncture in between, these are just some of the names behind discovery.
Dr. Phil Greenberg, holder of The Rona Jaffe Foundation Endowed Chair, is at the forefront of immunotherapy. From early discoveries in how to target cancer cells with the body’s own immune cells to continued research into how to genetically reprogram a patient’s T cells to even more effectively target cancers, Dr. Greenberg strives to find a once-and-for-all cure. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “The things we’re doing now, we couldn’t even have dreamed about back when I started.”
Suzzanne Lacey benefitted from Dr. Greenberg’s discoveries when she was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer. Her cancer had metastasized to her brain, spleen and lungs. Her prognosis was dire and her doctor recommended a combination of two immunotherapies. The response was as close to a miracle as scientists can believe in. She is now enrolled in a clinical trial that’s testing a unique Fred Hutch-developed approach using a lower-intensity treatment to sustain the remission.
Learn more: Diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer, a woman is disease-free after immunotherapy
Dr. Veena Shankaran is a gastrointestinal medical oncologist whose interests lie not only in the health outcome of her patients, but the other impacts cancer treatment has on their lives. She studies the out-of-pocket costs faced by patients, and the cost-effectiveness of cancer therapies. Financial toxicity is just one aspect of “cancer outcomes” the people of Fred Hutch strive to improve. “I find it rewarding to help people live not only longer, but better,” she said.
Learn more: Dr. Veena Shankaran receives the Lert Family Endowed Chair
After being treated for lobular breast cancer, Anisa Ishida was moved to give back to the organization by enhancing the patient experience for others. She volunteers for Fred Hutch’s Quality Oversight Committee, giving valued input in creating a better healing environment. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to give your perspective as a patient. I didn’t expect to have this much of an impact,” she said. “It blew me away that they listened to us and really took [our advice] to heart.”
Dr. Denise Galloway, holder of the Paul Stephanus Memorial Endowed Chair, has studied viruses that cause cancer, including human papillomavirus (HPV). Her team demonstrated the link between the virus and many genital and head-and-neck cancers. Her work paved the way for the HPV vaccine that now protects future generations. She’s hoping to extend her success to other pathogens associated with cancer. “In just 25 years we went from not knowing what caused cervical cancer to having a vaccine that can prevent it,” she said.
At Fred Hutch, a patient’s experience doesn’t end with treatment. Dr. Stephanie Lee, holder of the David and Patricia Giuliani/Oliver Press Endowed Chair in Cancer Research, treats patients with leukemia and other blood, bone marrow and lymph diseases, but she also monitors and supports patients through long-term recovery. She leads a national research network that seeks to better understand graft-vs.-host disease and create more effective therapies for it. Long-term survivorship is an important aspect of cancer care.
Learn more: Dr. Stephanie Lee elected vice president of American Society of Hematology
Breast medical oncologist Dr. Nancy Davidson, holder of the Raisbeck Endowed Chair for Collaborative Research, led pioneering research into hormonal signals and breast cancer that has led to practice-changing treatments and new standards of care. Her work led to understanding how estrogen deprivation can trigger cancer cell death. As an executive at Fred Hutch, she guides the organization in fulfilling its values, driving continued excellence in research and patient care, and emphasizes education and collaboration with other healthcare organizations.
Learn more: Dr. Nancy Davidson receives national cancer award
Former Fred Hutch president Dr. Larry Corey returned to being a vaccine pioneer and front-line scientific innovator who leads the global HIV Vaccine Trials Network. His work on infectious diseases and viruses such as herpes simplex virus (HSV), COVID-19 and HIV has changed the lives of people across the world. He is currently studying immunotherapies for HSV and HIV and the use of antibodies to prevent viral infections. “There is nothing that has impacted the lives of more people than antivirals,” he said.
Learn more: Dr. Larry Corey receives Alexander Fleming Award
Photography by Sockeye.
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