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Galloway
Denise Galloway, PhD

Denise Galloway, PhD

  • Scientific Director, Pathogen-Associated Malignancies Integrated Research Center (PAM IRC), Fred Hutch
  • Professor, Human Biology Division, Fred Hutch
  • Professor, Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutch
  • Member, Immunotherapy Integrated Research Center (IIRC), Fred Hutch
  • Member, Translational Data Science Integrated Research Center (TDS IRC), Fred Hutch
  • Paul Stephanus Memorial Endowed Chair, Fred Hutch
206.667.4500
206.667.5815
Galloway Lab

Background

Dr. Denise Galloway studies two viruses that cause cancer: human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer and the majority of other genital, tonsil and tongue cancers; and Merkel cell polyomavirus, or MCPyV, which is linked to 80 percent of cases of a rare but aggressive skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma, or MCC. Dr. Galloway’s HPV work helped pave the way for the cancer-preventive HPV vaccine. She was among the first researchers to show that a single HPV protein could form a virus-like particle that is the backbone of the noninfectious HPV vaccine. She also led a team that definitively linked HPV to several cancers and performed studies on the natural history of HPV infections that were critical for designing trials of the first HPV vaccine. Her work on MCPyV led to a simple blood test that allows oncologists to monitor MCC recurrence. A major aim of her work is to determine the least number of HPV vaccine doses that are required to prevent HPV infection. As scientific director of the Pathogen-Associated Malignancies Integrated Research Center, she also leads the center’s efforts to extend the success of the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer to other pathogen-associated cancers.

Education

City University of New York, 1975, PhD (Molecular Biology)

Research Interests

The Galloway Lab studies the mechanisms by which human papillomaviruses contribute to cancer, with an emphasis on types most likely to progress to cervical cancer. Galloway and colleagues work to understand the natural history of genital HPV infections and why only a small subset of women infected with high-risk HPVs develop cancer. 

The Pathogen-Associated Malignancies IRC brings together Hutch experts in infectious diseases, host-pathogen interactions, cancer biology, immunology, global oncology and immunotherapy to understand, treat and prevent cancers that are linked to infectious agents.

Fred Hutch researchers excel at understanding the biology of pathogen-related cancers, identifying the immune system’s interaction with both pathogens and cancers, and leveraging that knowledge to develop and test innovative strategies that improve care for patients worldwide. The Pathogen-Associated Malignancies IRC builds on those strengths, interfacing closely with other programs, including our Immunotherapy IRC.

 

"In just 25 years we went from not knowing what caused cervical cancer to having a vaccine that can prevent it. That’s amazingly fast."

— Dr. Denise Galloway

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