COVID-19 Research

Thanks to Science, Hope Is on the Horizon

Our scientists are transforming COVID-19 from a global crisis to a manageable disease.

Join us.

Relentless Progress to End the Pandemic

Philanthropy makes it possible for science to move at the speed of the pandemic. With support from generous donors, Fred Hutch researchers have been at the center of an unprecedented scientific sprint to stop the coronavirus — and now we are entering a new phase.

The vaccine rollouts that bring fresh hope come against a heartbreaking backdrop: COVID-19 is out of control in the U.S., with nearly 200,000 new infections every day. Hospitals are stretched to capacity, and every minute the virus takes another life.

COVID-19 is far from over — and neither is its impact on our communities, our nation, and the world. Our scientists need your support to maintain momentum as we navigate the pandemic’s most dangerous phase.

We leveraged our decades of experience developing HIV vaccines to design, coordinate, and co-lead massive, successful vaccine trials for the federal government’s COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN). Now we need your support for the next phase of work, including learning how vaccines affect long-term immunity, evaluating vaccines in children, expanding uptake, and more.
Since opening the nation's first freestanding COVID-19 clinical research center in October, we've become the partner of choice for major studies of experimental treatments for early-stage coronavirus infection. With your support, we will expand the number and type of studies we conduct — and give health care providers more and better treatments to offer their patients.

These bold initiatives are funded, in part, by government and industry — but philanthropic support plays a unique role in accelerating progress. Donors have contributed $9 million to date to our COVID-19 Research Fund, fueling innovation across our campus. We are currently seeking an additional $2 million in private funding to sustain the clinical research center, support lab-based research, and nurture our scientists’ most fearless ideas.

Leading-Edge Research

Gifts to the COVID-19 Research Fund have allowed our scientists to quickly turn their attention to the coronavirus. In addition to supporting vaccine studies and the clinical research center, philanthropic gifts have fueled these high-priority projects:

Probing the B-cell repertoire for COVID-19 antibodies: Using blood samples donated by patients infected with coronavirus, our scientists painstakingly sifted through billions of antibodies to find one that stopped the virus from infecting vulnerable cells, a discovery with applications for therapies, vaccines, and other COVID-19 prevention strategies.
Decoding the immune response to COVID-19: Through the Seattle COVID-19 Cohort Study, we’re gaining detailed insight into how our bodies react from the earliest days of infection by following health care workers, first responders, and others at high risk for infection.
Safely adjusting the density dial: Our donor-funded Return to Campus study has helped us understand prevalence of COVID-19 on our campus, prevent transmission, and model a safe path forward for ourselves and other organizations and businesses.
Recognizing and reducing inequities: The pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement have pushed the disproportionate impact of disease on Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other racial and ethnic minorities into the spotlight. Our researchers are studying strategies to increase access to vital health care services in underserved communities.
Testing the most cutting-edge ideas: Donor-funded pilot awards enable scientists to try outside-the-box ideas and generate the proof of concept they need to attract larger grants. To date, our generous donors have funded 10 pilot projects.

Your gift allows us to move faster and explore the newest, most daring ideas. Donor dollars foster innovation early in the research process so we can build the evidence we need to secure government funding, foundation grants, and industry partnerships — and turn promising ideas into proven solutions that will halt the pandemic and save lives worldwide.

Thank you for your belief in the power of research.

OCOE PPE drive — Click the image above to help our Office of Community Outreach & Engagement buy N95 masks, disposable gloves and gowns, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, and other much-needed personal protective equipment for Indigenous communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

Support COVID-19 Research

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$9 M

Raised to Date

Thank you for your generous support!

1,650+

Donors

Nearly half are new donors.

45

States

Support from across the U.S.

Why Does Fred Hutch Study Viruses?

Our pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation revealed the urgent need to protect transplant patients from deadly infections, which launched our quest to gain an in-depth understanding of the immune system.

Today, we’re known for our expertise in virology and infectious disease. We are working in the laboratory, the clinic, and the cloud to find better ways to detect, prevent, and treat viruses and other infections to protect patients and communities. Working across disciplines, we are studying how HIV and other viruses evolve, learning how pathogens cause cancers, and developing and advancing treatments that harness patients’ own immune systems to fight disease.

We track epidemics to guide public health officials’ strategies to contain outbreaks of diseases like Zika, Ebola, and now COVID-19. As home to the HIV Vaccine Trials Network — the world’s largest international collaboration to develop vaccines that protect against the virus — we were able to quickly mobilize to design, coordinate, and co-lead massive COVID-19 federal vaccine trials as part of the COVID-19 Prevention Network.

Your gift to our COVID-19 Research Fund allows us to leverage decades of expertise and infrastructure to end this pandemic and prepare for the next health threat.

Please give today.