Rainer Storb: Six decades of bone marrow transplant breakthroughs

Storb arrived in Seattle in 1965, on a Fulbright scholarship with several high-profile publications already under his belt. After training as a doctor in Germany, Storb had worked with Marcel Bessis, MD, in Paris to understand the function of various subcellular organelles by using laser beams to damage them after treating cells with various vital dyes.

“It was a very productive time, but I got so far away from the clinic,” Storb recalled.

Hoping to find his way back to patient-centered work, he quizzed visiting scientists about the most cutting-edge clinical research and read up on their recommendations in the library.

“The most interesting name was Don Thomas,” Storb said. So he wrote Thomas a letter, and three weeks later received a reply inviting him to join the fledgling team.

Bone marrow transplantation aims to wipe out blood cancer at its source, the bone marrow, and replace it with healthy, non-cancerous donated marrow cells. These can then regrow all the oxygen-carrying, disease-fighting and wound-healing properties of healthy blood-cell system. On its face, the idea made sense. But at the time, scientists didn’t understand how the strategies our immune system uses to ward off danger could doom genetically distinct donor cells. Promising results in inbred mice had failed to translate to genetically varied humans.

Few remained who believed it could work. Joining Thomas’ team took deep dedication and a high tolerance for risk. Luckily, Storb’s ambition and energy carried him through the early failures, even as he and the team dedicated nearly every waking hour—weekends not excepted—to their vision.

A lot has changed at Fred Hutch during the past 50 years, but one constant throughout our organization’s history has been the importance of our nurses. We asked nurses from throughout the organization to reflect on what it means to them to be a Fred Hutch nurse and their most meaningful experiences—from the beginnings of Fred Hutch to today.

Jackie Saxon (Transplant Clinic): I started working at Fred Hutch, known at the time as Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in 1987. At the time, it was a small 20-bed research unit in a building on First Hill, across the street from Swedish Hospital.

This picture of me and Dr. Don Thomas was taken just after he won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. He came to the unit that evening to specifically thank the nurses, who he called his “secret weapons.” I didn’t realize at the time what a momentous contribution Dr. Thomas had made and would make in medicine, and to the world at large. I am grateful to have found a home at Fred Hutch, to work alongside such great people, and to see how transplant and the research we’ve all been a part of has saved countless lives. I wouldn’t change a thing.

In the center of the Fred Hutch South Lake Union campus stands a towering 60-foot sculpture. It may seem a contradiction, but the landmark architectural sculpture should strike observers as both monumental and delicate. That’s according to its creator, architectural sculptor Ed Carpenter.

Carpenter characterizes “Vessel” as a centerpiece for Fred Hutch. “My intention was to create a sculpture that could not be anywhere else – that would feel right for this site and this institution both physically and metaphorically,” he said.