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Hill
Geoffrey Hill, MD, FRACP, FRCPA

Geoffrey Hill, MD, FRACP, FRCPA

Hematology-Oncology

  • Director of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Fred Hutch
  • Senior Vice President and Director, Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutch
  • Professor, Translational Science and Therapeutics, Fred Hutch
  • Leonard and Norma Klorfine Endowed Chair for Clinical Research, Fred Hutch
  • Member, Immunotherapy Integrated Research Center (IIRC), Fred Hutch
  • Affiliate Investigator, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutch
  • Professor, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Washington School of Medicine
Geoff Hill Lab

About

Dr. Geoffrey Hill is senior vice president and director of the Translational Science and Therapeutics Division at Fred Hutch. He is a hematologist and researcher specializing in blood and marrow transplantation and leads research to improve transplant outcomes and reduce complications.

Background

Dr. Hill treats patients with blood cancers, including leukemia, using blood and marrow transplantation. In addition to leading the Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, he is the director of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation at Fred Hutch. He works closely with colleagues to integrate transplantation with emerging immunotherapies to improve cancer treatment.

As a researcher, Dr. Hill is widely recognized as one of the top authorities on graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a potentially life-threatening complication of transplantation. He studies the immunological mechanisms that initiate both acute and chronic GVHD, including how immune cells are directed by cell-signaling molecules called cytokines. His goal is to minimize GVHD and make transplantation safer and more tolerable, while also reducing infection, cancer relapse and rejection of transplanted cells.

Dr. Hill’s laboratory research has led to the development of multiple new therapies for GVHD, many of which are now used in patient care or are being tested in clinical trials. As a senior principal research fellow of Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council, he has coauthored more than 150 scientific publications on stem cell transplantation, immunology and GVHD. Before joining Fred Hutch, he led bone marrow transplantation and cancer programs at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and cared for patients at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Australia.

Area of Clinical Practice
Adult blood and marrow transplantation

“Seeing patients cured of leukemia and returning to normal life is highly rewarding.”

— Dr. Hill

Why do you conduct research?

Early in my career, I was caring for a man, about the same age as me, who was an up-and-coming musician. His leukemia had relapsed and there were no treatment options left that could cure him. He didn’t want to spend the time he had left in a hospital, so I would meet him at a local park or his home to provide palliative care, easing his symptoms and making him comfortable. Although I couldn’t save his life, he made a deep impression on mine: I realized that doing research was the best way to save the lives of people like him. Seeing patients with poor outcomes after transplants drives me to keep searching for answers.

What do you want patients to know about working with you?

In my clinical practice, I see a lot of patients with complications following bone marrow transplants — a curative therapy for otherwise fatal blood cancers — that can be difficult to address. I go into the lab to understand what’s going on biologically so that I can develop new treatments and try to prevent some of these complications. What I do in the lab is constantly informed by my interactions with patients — I’m always striving to improve their outcomes. When working with me, you can expect to have candid discussions about your illness and your treatment options. I want you to be fully informed, understanding the pros and cons of each choice, so that we can make decisions together.

Dr. Hill’s work spans basic discovery research and clinical practice in the areas of donor (allogeneic) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) and cancer immunotherapy. An author on more than 195 scientific papers, his studies have addressed the major limitations of bone marrow transplantation, namely graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), opportunistic infection, relapse and graft rejection. His studies of cytomegalovirus (CMV) produced the first models of CMV reactivation after allogeneic HCT that allow preclinical testing of strategies to improve anti-viral immunity. Early on, he helped demonstrate the relationship between doses of pre-transplant ‘conditioning’ therapy and GVHD, which led to the use of ‘reduced intensity’ conditioning in nearly half of all HCT performed today. His immunology laboratory especially focuses on the interactions between various ‘cytokine’ molecules, which convey signals between cells, and the multiple types of immune cells that play critical roles in HCT outcomes. They were among the first to show the immunomodulatory effects of stem cells mobilization with the growth-stimulating factor, G-CSF, and more than 80% of HCT now uses G-CSF mobilized stem cells.

Other ongoing studies focus on cytokines that might enhance the anti-tumor efficacy of HCT, focusing on interferons. These factors act upon various cell types that impact HCT outcomes and are now the focus of newer ‘immunotherapies.’ Beyond the immune ‘cytotoxic’ T cells that can attack and kill cancers, Dr. Hill studies the ‘antigen presenting’ cells that instruct donor T cells to generate immune responses to both GVHD target tissues and tumor cells in an effort to separate these detrimental and beneficial responses. His group also studies ‘regulatory’ T cells that can be used to reduce GVHD after HCT and may be modulated to improve efficacy and/or reduce toxicity after cell-based immunotherapies. Finally, Dr. Hill’s group is in the late stages of therapeutic development of strategies that inhibit an immune cell-derived factor (perforin) in order to eliminate graft rejection.

A phase I/II study of peg-Interferon-alpha to treat hematological malignancies relapsing after allogeneic BMT.

Analysis of type-17 responses in stem cell donors and their transplant recipients and relationships to chronic GVHD (completed).

A multi-centre phase III study of IL-6R inhibition to prevent GVHD after allogeneic BMT after HLA matched stem cell transplant (completed).

A multi-centre phase II study of IL-12/23p40 inhibition to prevent GVHD after allogeneic BMT after HLA matched stem cell transplant.

Preventing GVHD by inhibition of alloantigen presentation in the gut.

Optimizing myeloma-specific immunity after autologous stem cell transplantation.

Understanding the role of humoral immunity in CMV reactivation after stem cell transplantation.

Languages

English

Education and Experience

Fellowship, Caterbury Health; Dana Farber Cancer Institute; National Health and Medical Research Council

Residency, Rotorua Hospital; Waikato Hospital

MD, University of Auckland

FRACP, Royal Australasian College of Physicians

Research Associate, Harvard University, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

FRCPA, Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia

MBChB, University of Auckland

BHB, University Of Auckland

Clinical Trials

We make promising new treatments available to you through studies called clinical trials led by Fred Hutch physicians and researchers. Many of these trials at Fred Hutch have led to FDA-approved treatments and have improved standards of care globally. Together, you and your physician can decide if a study is right for you.

Find a Clinical Trial Led by Dr. Hill

Publications

Many of our Fred Hutch physicians and researchers conduct ongoing research to improve standards of patient care. Their work is evaluated by others in their field and selected for publication to the United States National Library of Medicine, the largest medical library in the world. See scientific papers this Fred Hutch physician has written.

View Dr. Hill's Publications

Your Care Team

At Fred Hutch, you receive care from a team of providers with extensive experience in your disease. Your team includes physicians, a patient care coordinator, a registered nurse, an advanced practice provider and others, based on your needs. You also have access to experts like registered dieticians, social workers, acupuncturists, psychiatrists and more who specialize in supporting people with cancer or blood disorders.

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Insurance

Fred Hutch accepts most national private health insurance plans as well as Medicare. We also accept Medicaid for people from Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. We are working to ensure that everyone, no matter what their financial situation, has access to the care they need.

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Stories

All news
Fred Hutch hematologists featured at 2026 Tandem Meetings
Fred Hutch hematologists featured at 2026 Tandem Meetings Researchers highlight findings on making stem cell transplants safer and more effective March 9, 2026
‘I can’t remember the last time I saw someone with bad gut GVHD’: BMT expert reflects on recent lifesaving successes
‘I can’t remember the last time I saw someone with bad gut GVHD’: BMT expert reflects on recent lifesaving successes Fred Hutch bone marrow transplant and GVHD expert Dr. Geoffrey Hill explains how a new approach has changed the BMT landscape, where research is headed next November 18, 2025
Leonard and Norma Klorfine Endowed Chair for Clinical Research awarded to Dr. Geoffrey Hill
Leonard and Norma Klorfine Endowed Chair for Clinical Research awarded to Dr. Geoffrey Hill Funding will help facilitate inter-institutional collaboration and foundational data capture for immunological research January 7, 2025