Participating Institutions
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
University of Washington
Seattle Children's
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
The four participating institutions in the Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington Cancer Consortium have a long and extensive history of collaboration across the disciplines of basic, clinical, and public health sciences. These collaborations include the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, as well as many informal collaborations, joint publications, program project grants, centers, spore grants, and joint training grants. The Consortium further enhances the collaborative cancer research efforts of these institutions by strengthening the level of inter-institutional strategic planning and development.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, formed in 1973, is one of the world's leading cancer research centers. Home of three Nobel Prize laureates, the Hutchinson Center is an independent, nonprofit research institution dedicated to the development and advancement of biomedical technology to eliminate cancer and other potentially fatal diseases. The center has approximately 2,700 employees and an annual budget of approximately $850 million.
Recognized internationally for its pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation, the Center attracts and trains some of the leading physicians and researchers in the nation. The center has a faculty of about 200 scientists working in five scientific disciplines: basic sciences, clinical research, human biology, public health sciences, and vaccine and infectious disease research. These five scientific divisions collaborate to form a unique environment for conducting basic and applied science. Using an interdisciplinary approach, these scientists apply the highest standards to improve the prevention and treatment of cancer and other diseases.
For more information, visit the center's Web site at http://www.fhcrc.org.
Advancing Knowledge, Saving Lives
University of Washington
Consortium members based at the University of Washington have primary faculty appointments in the University of Washington School of Medicine and the School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
More information is available at http://www.washington.edu.
University of Washington School of Medicine
The University of Washington School of Medicine, founded in 1946, is a top-ranked scientific research institution and a leader in the training of physicians. The School of Medicine ranks second among all medical schools and first among public medical schools in the receipt of National Institutes of Health research support. In fiscal year 2006, the School of Medicine received $573 million in federal research funding. With 1,800 full-time faculty, the School of Medicine places a strong emphasis on collaboration across specialties. Programs of particular achievement include neuroscience, proteomics, physiology, cell biology, imaging, and genetics.
The School of Medicine is part of UW Medicine. UW Medicine is comprised of two major teaching hospitals—Harborview Medical Center and University of Washington Medical Center—and a primary care network, where all medical staff members are faculty physicians from the medical school. UW Medicine serves as the regional referral center for a number of highly specialized services as well as for primary care services.
University of Washington Medical Center, part of UW Medicine, has a wide range of oncology programs that support patient care, research and training activities. It is one of only four academic medical centers in the United States with dedicated clinical programs involving high-energy radiation therapy with linear accelerator and neutron therapy using cyclotron. UW Medicine's internationally acclaimed radiology program has resulted in examinations unavailable elsewhere. UW Medicine has an active General Clinical Research Center (GCRC), a large group of investigators in gene therapy and stem cell biology, and an outstanding biomolecular structure research program.
School of Public Health and Community Medicine
The UW School of Public Health and Community Medicine, ranked 4th in the country by US News and World Report, brings together world-renowned faculty, critical research, and a vibrant interdisciplinary environment to help make the world a healthier place. Five departments—Biostatistics, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Global Health, and Health Services—train more than 800 Master’s and PhD students in the art and science of public health, preparing them for careers in education, research, and practice. Many of the School’s 200 faculty hold appointments at the Hutchinson Center, reflecting the School’s substantial expertise and funding in cancer research. The School of Public Health and Community Medicine receives over $80 million annually in total costs awarded from grants and contracts.
Seattle Children's
Ranked in top five cancer programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Children's comprehensive cancer program treats more pediatric cancer cases than any other provider in the region, with more than 230 new cancer patients per year. Children's has a long history of investment in and support of both clinical and basic science cancer research. Its research program is supported by more than $30 million in total awards for external research awards, including nearly $15 million from federal sources.
Cancer research activities at Children's include cooperative group clinical trials through its memberships in the Children's Oncology Group (COG), New Advances in Neuroblastoma Therapy Consortium, and the newly constituted Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia Consortium, as well as investigator-initiated and industry sponsored studies. Children's has been particularly active in the development of protocols for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and solid tumors, including brain tumors. Additional cancer research efforts at Children's focus on the use of peripheral blood stem cell supported chemotherapy, the treatment of infants with malignant brain tumors, and the investigation of new therapeutic and supportive care agents for patients with Ewing's Sarcoma, neuroblastomas, and other types of cancer.
Seattle Children's delivers superior patient care, advances new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research, and serves as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical referral center for the largest landmass of any children’s hospital in the country (Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho). Consistently ranked as one of the best children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s is internationally recognized for advancing discoveries in cancer, genetics, immunology, pathology, infectious disease, injury prevention and bioethics. Children’s also serves as the primary clinical, research and teaching site for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
For more information visit http://cancer.seattlechildrens.org.
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is a nationally designated, prospective payment system (PPS)-exempt cancer hospital formed in 1998 by the Hutchinson Center, University of Washington, and Children’s Hospital. The intent of the partners was to provide an optimal environment for clinical treatment and research by bringing the leading clinical research physician/scientists of the three outstanding partner institutions together in a single cancer care delivery system. The outpatient facility was built on the Hutchinson campus at South Lake Union in January 2001 and underwent expansion in 2006. The SCCA serves more than 4,500 new patients each year, averages more than 200 patient visits per day, and encompasses more than 200,000 square feet. Most adult hematology and oncology outpatient care occurs at the SCCA, although some surgical and radiation procedures continue to be performed at UW Medical Center clinics. Most pediatric hematology/oncology outpatient care is delivered at Children’s Laurelhurst campus, although the SCCA provides stem cell transplant outpatient care for pediatric patients. Inpatient pediatric care is delivered at the Children’s Laurelhurst campus in 38 dedicated hematology/oncology beds. Adult inpatient care is conducted at UW Medical Center in 86 oncology beds. All medical faculty serving at the SCCA have a primary faculty appointment at either UW or the Hutchinson Center.
The purpose of the SCCA as defined by its board of directors is to: 1) provide premier, patient-focused cancer care, 2) support the conduct of cancer clinical research and education, 3) enhance access to improved cancer interventions, and 4) advance the standard of cancer care, regionally and beyond.
In addition to serving adult and pediatric patients on clinical protocols through the Hutchinson Center transplant program, the clinic houses multi-disciplinary clinical programs for the following cancers: breast, gastrointestinal, gynecologic, lung/head and neck, melanoma, prostate, and sarcoma. It also serves as the primary clinical practice site for the UW School of Medicine divisions of Medical Oncology and Hematology, and the Breast Imaging Program of the UW Radiology Department.
The SCCA has also formed a regional network with eight hospitals in rural areas of Washington, Montana and Alaska. It has strong collaborations with Harborview Medical Center and the Seattle Veteran’s Administration Hospital to assure that patients in these systems have access to clinical trials available through the Consortium.
For more information about the SCCA, visit http://www.seattlecca.org.
