Joshua A. Hill, MD

/content/dam/www/provider-photos/h/joshua-hill/provider-joshua-hill-directory-1x.jpg
/content/dam/www/provider-photos/h/joshua-hill/provider-joshua-hill-directory-2x.jpg
Hill
Joshua A. Hill, MD

Joshua A. Hill, MD

  • Physician, Fred Hutch
  • Professor, Immunotherapy Integrated Research Center; Assistant Professor, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division; Assistant Professor, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutch
  • Assistant Professor, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington School of Medicine

Infectious Disease

 Print

“Infections can be scary, particularly in the context of cancer, but my hope is that you’ll pass some of that burden on to me and the other members of your health care team. Our goal is to help you be cancer-free and infection-free.”

— Dr. Hill

What drew you to you to the cross-section of infectious disease and cancer care?

I did my training in general internal medicine in Boston, and the hospital where I worked was affiliated with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. During my rotations, I met many patients who had undergone blood or bone marrow transplants. Because their immune systems had been wiped out during the transplant process, many of them had contracted a serious viral infection in their brains. At that point, it wasn’t really known how to best treat infections for people who had cancer. If a person’s malignancy is cured, but then they die of an infection, we haven’t really helped them. I realized that there was a tremendous opportunity to improve the way we approach infectious disease in patients with cancer. It was a whole new area of medicine, rapidly evolving alongside oncology, where I felt I could make a lasting impact.

How do you help patients?

As an infectious disease doctor, I’m like a detective. I have to sort through all the clues about a person’s life to make sense of what’s going on — not only how someone is feeling but what they do for a living, where they’ve traveled and what their family situation is like, for example. This information enables me to make a diagnosis, and it also puts me in a position to help patients understand how an infection fits into the broader picture and what the path forward looks like. Infections can be scary, particularly in the context of cancer, but my hope is that you’ll pass some of that burden on to me and the other members of your health care team. Our goal is to help you be cancer-free and infection-free. 

Provider Background

Area of Clinical Practice
Infectious diseases

Infections in Patients With Cancer or Weakened Immune Systems
I am an infectious-disease specialist who cares for patients with cancer or other conditions that affect the immune system. Board-certified in both internal medicine and infectious disease, I am a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and the American Society of Transplantation. 

In addition to caring for patients, I lead a translational research group focused on improving strategies to prevent and treat infections in people whose immune symptoms have been compromised. We lead clinical trials testing new therapies and collaborate with researchers from a variety of disciplines. One specific area of focus is exploring infection prevention for patients getting CAR T-cell therapy. This type of therapy engineers patients’ immune cells to attack tumors; however, it can also increase the risk of infection. In 2020, we received a $3.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Moonshot program to better understand how CAR T-cell therapy impedes the functioning of the immune system and how to safely and effectively

Languages

English
Spanish

Education, Experience and Certifications

Undergraduate Degree
University of Texas at Austin

Medical Degree
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Residency
Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard

Fellowship
University of Washington, Infectious Diseases

Board Certification
Infectious Disease, 2015; Internal Medicine 2012, American Board of Internal Medicine

Other
Internship, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Awards

Amy Strelzer Manasevit Research Program Scholar Award
Dr. Hill received this grant in 2018 to support his research in diagnosing infectious lung diseases in patients who have received stem cell transplants.

Caroline B. Hall Young Investigator Award
Dr. Hill received this award in 2015 for his research on human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) and its association with pneumonia in patients who have received stem cell transplants.

Stories

All news
Starting the year smarter
Starting the year smarter How patients, providers, researchers and others stay informed amid a deluge of data and information January 8, 2025
Infectious disease experts propose trials network dedicated to immunocompromised patients
Infectious disease experts propose trials network dedicated to immunocompromised patients ImmunOptimize workshop convened stakeholders across disciplines to brainstorm infectious disease clinical trials network designed to serve people with weakened immune systems October 21, 2024
Infectious disease scientists look beyond the pandemic
Infectious disease scientists look beyond the pandemic A symposium about protecting people with weakened immune systems from microbial threats May 9, 2023

Clinical Trials

We make promising new treatments available to you through studies called clinical trials led by Fred Hutch physicians. 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 conduct ongoing research to improve standards of patient care. Their work is evaluated by other physicians 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 dietitians, social workers, acupuncturists, psychiatrists and more who specialize in supporting people with cancer or blood disorders. 

Meet Other Providers

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.

More About Insurance