What Your 2012 Dollars Supported

At Fred Hutch’s Premier Chefs Dinner last May, we celebrated the insight, dedication and extensive training that superb culinary artists rely on to produce astonishing and delectable dishes. We also recognized that those same attributes — in scientists — lead to lifesaving research, especially when bolstered by philanthropic contributions.

Private support, including more than $572,000 raised at the 2012 Premier Chefs Dinner — a record for the event — fuels Fred Hutch’s pioneering research projects and nurtures the creativity and excellence of those who conduct them. Boosted by a generous challenge gift from Fred Hutch supporters Holly and Eric Dillon, you and your fellow diners have propelled lifesaving innovation by funding educational programs for new generations of research leaders.

For the middle school and high school students, college students and postdoctoral fellows whose intellect and ambition will shape tomorrow’s breakthroughs, Fred Hutch is an epicenter of unparalleled training opportunities. With more than a dozen programs, we maximize our institutional strengths to offer hands-on learning experiences, fill crucial educational gaps and provide professional development support that students cannot get anywhere else.

We describe a few of those programs here and thank you for helping to make them possible through your participation in the 2012 Premier Chefs Dinner.

Science Education Partnership

For more than 20 years, Fred Hutch has been collaborating with middle and high school science teachers in Washington state to effectively engage students in science education through the Science Education Partnership (SEP). With the help of these outstanding teachers, SEP has reached an estimated 300,000 students. Thanks to your support, that number continues to grow.

The award-winning SEP builds teachers’ content knowledge and technical skills, and provides them with internships during which they work side by side with Fred Hutch scientist-mentors. Once teachers return to their classrooms, they remain connected to the SEP’s dedicated community of scientists and educators. They also have access to the SEP Kit Loan Program, which enables students who might otherwise have little to no hands-on science experiences through their schools to use the same tools and concepts that researchers use every day in fields such as vaccine and drug development and environmental science.

SEP teachers like Jeff Shaver of Seattle’s Cleveland High School also find extraordinary ways to give back to the science education community. Mr. Shaver has used SEP relationships to build novel, award-winning programs for his students in the area of flow cytometry, a powerful technique for measuring and sorting cells. One week-long workshop allowed his students to build their own prototype machines. These machines will be used to measure oil production in algae being developed for biofuel production — work initiated by Fred Hutch scientist Dr. Jim Roberts. The homemade cytometers will also be used by Kenyan students to investigate water quality through a partnership Mr. Shaver established as part of a recent student exposition.

Training Lab

To accommodate unique educational opportunities, we have developed the Hutchinson Center Training Lab, a fully equipped, hazard-free facility that complies with state safety guidelines for minor students. The Training Lab has become a valuable teaching tool for a variety of educational programs, and generous private support like yours is essential to operating, staffing and stocking it so we can continue to inspire new generations of students.

Internships and fellowships

With the help of private support, Fred Hutch also cultivates the budding careers of more advanced students. Our Summer Undergraduate Research Program, for example, provides intensive, nine-week internships to college seniors interested in careers in biomedical research. One such student, driven by the loss of his brother to pediatric brain cancer, joined Dr. Jim Olson’s team last summer. As an intern, he tested a novel treatment for certain pediatric brain cancers and showed this particular chemotherapy agent holds promise for treating a particular tumor for which there are virtually no therapies at present. This remarkable student won the Lee Hartwell Poster Award for his presentation at the conclusion of the internship and is now applying to medical schools.

Graduate students obtain innovative training through programs such as the Molecular and Cellular Biology
Graduate Program, which is jointly administered by the Hutchinson Center and University of Washington. Since its inception in 1994, more than 200 exceptional students have completed this outstanding, interdisciplinary program.

Private contributions also foster the growth of our postdoctoral researchers — talented individuals who are transitioning from years of formal training to careers as independent researchers. Thanks to support like yours, Fred Hutch can provide comprehensive mentorship and training not just in scientific disciplines but also in areas such as grant writing and public speaking — opportunities that ensure our young scientists have the skills they need to succeed as tomorrow’s research leaders.

Thank you

To accelerate the next generation of breakthrough research, we need the next generation of exceptional scientists. Thank you for investing in the future of research and providing hope for patients and families — today and for years to come.