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Read more about Fred Hutch achievements and accolades.
Alex Doan, an MD/PhD candidate and researcher at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and the University of Washington, was recently named the 2026 recipient of the Dorothy L. Simpson Leadership Award from the Seattle chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation.
The ARCS Foundation provides financial support to top graduate scholars in STEM fields and the annual award recognizes leadership, intellectual curiosity and a commitment to the good of the broader community.
"It’s an absolute distinction to have been chosen for this award,” Doan said. “I hope my own commitments can truly reflect and exemplify Dorothy Simpson’s unwavering dedication to education and public health.”
Targeting an understudied, aggressive cancer
Working in the MacPherson Lab at Fred Hutch, Doan is focused on finding a new treatment for small cell lung cancer (SCLC), a relatively rare and aggressive lung cancer subtype that carries a five-year survival rate of just under 10%.
“Because it is so aggressive, patients who are diagnosed have limited time and limited treatment options, and the disease itself has been difficult to study,” said Doan. “I’m working to develop a novel immunotherapy for treating it.”
His field of study, glycobiology, focuses on the dense layer of sugar molecules, called glycans, that cover cell surfaces. Cancer cells can alter these glycans — specifically using a sugar called sialic acid — to hide from the immune system.
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"Glycobiology is a relatively new field, particularly compared to more established areas like genomics or proteomics, which is why I wanted to study it," Doan explained. "Few researchers have explored it in the context of small cell lung cancer."
The work is already showing great promise: working in mouse models, Doan has demonstrated that stripping away sialic acid unmasks the tumor cells, enabling the immune system to recognize and attack them more effectively.
“Alex's work may provide an inroad to help us overcome a remarkable ability that SCLC cells have to evade anti-tumor T-cell responses,” said David MacPherson, PhD, who holds the Vinh Bui and Tram Le Endowed Chair for Lung Cancer. “I knew very little about sialylation and relevance to immune responses before Alex sold me on the idea of studying this pathway as a thesis project, and his project has worked out exceedingly well.”
Recognizing his calling: help cure cancer
Doan identifies as first-generation. His parents moved to the U.S. from Vietnam, and instilled in him the importance and value of education.
He attended Stanford University for undergrad and participated in a lab where he helped conduct experiments to help find cures for cancer. At this same time, Doan’s grandmother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung adenocarcinoma. These experiences had a profound effect on him and helped him recognize his calling: he wanted to dedicate his career to finding cures for cancer.
To continue his studies and move closer to achieving this goal, Doan looked into the University of Washington’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), one of the top dual-degree MD/PhD programs in the nation. This track allows participants to complete their medical coursework at UW while conducting scientific research in Fred Hutch laboratories.
Doan quickly recognized it was a path he wanted to pursue and the best next step in his career. So, after earning a Bachelor of Science in biology with honors and a Master of Science in cancer biology from Stanford, he headed to Seattle to join the MSTP.
“The MSTP offers a unique opportunity to be at the intersection of medicine and research and understanding both,” said Doan, who is beginning year six of the eight-year MSTP. “I want to be in that role, a physician leading a clinical trial, then bringing it to patients and educating them as well.”
Developing into a community leader
Doan’s time in Seattle has also brought a number of opportunities that have allowed him to develop into a leader. His willingness to take on additional responsibility and lead is part of what led the ARCS to select Doan for the leadership award.
Early in the MSTP, Doan spent a year serving as the sole teaching assistant in the anatomy lab as part of the UW School of Medicine’s Anatomy and Embryology MD curriculum. Today, within the MSTP, Doan serves on the student council to advocate for trainee well-being. He also sits on the student admissions committee where he helps select and welcome future physician-scientists to the program. And today in the MacPherson Lab, he actively mentors both an undergraduate student and a post-baccalaureate scholar.
Beyond academia, Doan is active in the community. He serves as a lead manager for UW's Student Health Initiative for Access (SHIFA) clinic at Casa Latina, which provides free health screenings and primary care referrals to underserved populations in the Seattle area.
“Alex is developing into a stellar young physician-scientist who comes up with innovative ideas and conducts rigorous experiments to test his ideas. He is also an excellent mentor who transfers his excitement about science to younger trainees and is always eager to help others,” said MacPherson. “I'm grateful to have had this opportunity to mentor Alex and can't wait to see where his career takes him.”
