Fred Hutch Receives $710 Million Gift from the Bezos Family

The donation will fund recruitment, research facilities, clinical research, and immunotherapy research.

Written byShawna Williams

| 1 min read

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exterior of Fred Hutch research building

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Jeff Bezos’s family has committed to donating $710.5 million to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, the institution announced yesterday (October 12). According to the Associated Press, the gift is the largest Fred Hutch has ever received.

Earlier this year, Fred Hutch, which formerly bore the full name “Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,” merged with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to become Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and also formed close ties with Seattle Children’s and the University of Washington’s UW Medicine.

“As long-time Fred Hutch supporters, we were encouraged to see the recent merger expand its capacity to aggressively investigate and treat cancer and infectious diseases,” says Mike Bezos, the stepfather of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, in the announcement. “Science, particularly cancer and virus research, is at such a pivotal point right now. We hope our investment in the Hutch leads to answers for the most pressing medical questions.”

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Meet the Author

Shawna Williams
Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Previously, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, and in the communications offices of several academic research institutions. As news director, Shawna assigned and edited news, opinion, and in-depth feature articles for the website on all aspects of the life sciences. She is based in central Washington State, and is a member of the Northwest Science Writers Association and the National Association of Science Writers.
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