Can you feel the hope emanating from this very spot? This is Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. It is more than just a research institute. It’s a beacon of hope in the fight against cancer and infectious diseases.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center started as the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation in 1956. William B. Hutchinson founded it. The foundation focused on heart surgery, cancer, and endocrine diseases. William’s brother Fred was a Major League pitcher and manager. Sadly Fred died of lung cancer at age 45. In his memory William established the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. This was a division of the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation.
With Senator Warren G. Magnuson’s help, the center received federal funding in 1972. This was under the National Cancer Act of 1971. It became one of 15 new NCI-designated Cancer Centers. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center gained independence in 1972. Its building opened in 1975. In 1976 it was named an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In 1998 Fred Hutchinson formed the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance or SCCA. This was a separate nonprofit. Partners included the University of Washington School of Medicine and Seattle Children’s. This collaboration enhanced clinical care. It helped retain the NCI comprehensive center designation. The SCCA’s outpatient clinic opened in January 2001.
The Seattle Times published articles in 2001 alleging unethical clinical studies. These studies involved cancer patients. The center formed an independent expert panel. This panel reviewed research practices. New conflict-of-interest rules were adopted.
Lawrence Corey became the fourth President in 2010. Gary Gilliland followed in 2015. Under Gilliland’s leadership the center expanded into the former Lake Union steam plant. Thomas J. Lynch Jr. took over as director in February 2020. In 2014 the organization adopted its nickname “Fred Hutch” as its official name.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance merged on April 1, 2022. They formed Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. This is a unified adult cancer research and care center. It is clinically integrated with University of Washington Medicine.
Three Nobel Prize winners have worked here. Linda B. Buck won in 2004. Her work solved many details of the olfactory system. Leland H. Hartwell won in 2001. His discoveries concerned the mechanisms that control cell division. E. Donnall Thomas won in 1990. He was a pioneer in bone-marrow transplantation.
The center is active in technology transfer. In 2013 it was a top ten biomedical research institution. It made 18 new deals with companies. These deals developed inventions made at the center. Juno Therapeutics was started based on center inventions. This company develops CAR-T immunotherapy for cancer.
The main campus spans fifteen acres in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. It consists of 13 buildings. Construction on the South Lake Union campus began in 1991. It opened on June 1, 1993.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center stands as a testament to hope, innovation, and relentless dedication. It strives to eliminate cancer as a cause of human suffering and death.