In today’s world of fast-paced scientific and medical innovation, it’s easy to forget that some of the most widespread pathogens affecting humanity still lack effective treatments or prevention strategies. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a double-stranded DNA herpes virus, epitomizes this reality. If you aren’t familiar with EBV, your body most likely is—the virus infects over 95% of people worldwide, and while…
Jenny Robinson was twelve when an injury to her anterior cruciate ligament and lateral meniscus derailed her soccer dreams. Although going pro was a long shot, the setback may have cost her a chance to someday join her heroes on the US Women’s National Team. However, it also helped turn a striker into a scientist.
Only a handful of scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center have been around longer than the institution itself; longtime public health researcher Ross Prentice, PhD, who retired at the end of 2022, is one of them. “I came here in 1974, when ‘the Hutch’ was little more than a twinkle in Bill Hutchinson’s eye,” Prentice said in a recent interview. “Back…
BBI Faculty Conversations: Today we are joined by BBI Member Dr. Andrew Stacey, Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s. BBI: Tell us how you got involved in medicine and your area of research? Dr. Stacey: I have an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in Statistics. I was thinking a lot about…
The University of Washington announced a new endowed deanship at UW Medicine supported by two $10 million donations each from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his wife Connie Ballmer. The deanship will honor recently retired UW Medicine dean Paul G. Ramsey, who served as CEO of the University of Washington School of…
New research from the Rasmussen lab on the touch system in zebrafish as a new model to study Merkel cell development and maintenance was recently published in eLife(link is external). The study demonstrates that the zebrafish touch system shares many characteristics with its mammalian counterpart, including developmental origin, innervation, and molecular characteristics while allowing in vivo analysis of specification, development, and maintenance.…
An artist and a scientist walk into a lecture hall … It sounds like the setup to a joke, but it actually happened on January 19 at Town Hall Seattle. Renowned artist Ginny Ruffner and ISB President Dr. Jim Heath hosted an hour-long conversation focusing on the intersection of art and science. And while the discussion was quite real, it delivered a number of…
New research findings show in detail how self-reactive T cells — white blood cells that mistakenly attack healthy instead of infected cells, thereby causing an autoimmune or an inflammatory response — are held in check by regulatory T cells. Regulatory T cells, or Tregs, are patrolling white blood cells that help maintain law and order among the body’s sometimes overzealous disease-fighting T…
Nearly one year after Russian aggression began, the people of Ukraine are intent on rebuilding their nation. In hopes of speeding the transitioning to the rebuilding phase, a delegation of Ukrainian health professionals recently traveled to Seattle to gain a deeper understanding of the biotechnology field, Their goal? Advancing the biotechnology industry within Ukraine despite the challenges they are currently…
If you’re looking for career opportunities in the Pacific Northwest in the fields of science, technology, engineering or math, then you’re in the right place. A new report from personal finance website WalletHub ranks Seattle as the best overall metro area for STEM professionals in the U.S. The Emerald City outranked Austin, Texas in second place, followed by Boston, Atlanta,…