Providing the foundation for curing cancer and other diseases by engaging in fundamental science
Basic research is at the foundation of all scientific discoveries, underlying the innovative cures and treatments developed at Fred Hutch. Founded in 1981, the Basic Sciences Division has continually evolved to be at the forefront of discovery, seeking to understand the fundamental underpinnings of our own biology as well as the dysregulations that cause disease.
It is a pleasure to recap the year of 2023 in the Division of Basic Sciences.
We’ve had an extremely successful year and recruited three new talented Assistant Professors. Dr. Christopher Lapointe joined us in July after a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford. Chris is an expert in protein translation and he develops single molecule assays that he combines with structural biology to uncover the underlying mechanisms. In September, we welcomed our second joint recruit with the Translational Data Sciences integrated research center. Dr. Sanjay Srivatsan completed his postdoctoral work at the University of Washington and develops new genomic technologies to address key biological questions regarding vertebrate development. We also look forward to welcoming Dr. Yasu Arimura in February of next year. Yasu is completing his postdoctoral fellowship at Rockefeller and is an expert in cryoEM. He pioneered a new cryoEM technique that he is using to understand native chromatin structure in normal and diseased cells. Yasu also brings a new model organism to the Hutch, Xenopus laevis, a species of frog. X. laevis are an exceptional model organism for studying chromatin structure as they can provide large quantities of eggs which in turn generates large amounts of protein for structural studies. Together, these three faculty members bring significant new research techniques and increase the breadth and ideas in the Division. We look forward to helping them launch their labs and the many scientific discoveries they will make.
The past year was marked with many events that promoted interactions we had been lacking during the pandemic. We resumed our flagship Current Biology seminar series and held our largest in-person retreat since the pandemic at the St. Edwards Lodge.
The Malik lab celebrated 20 years in the Division with a two-day symposium in August. It was terrific to see the success that many of Harmit’s trainees have achieved over the years. We also hosted the Weintraub symposium in person again to celebrate the achievements of outstanding graduate students. Our annual Pumpkin Carving Contest, held in collaboration with the Human Biology Division, was a delight as always and it was wonderful to see everyone’s creative talent.
It was another successful year for the trainees and faculty in the Division. Highlights from 2023 include the election of Dr. Cecilia Moens as an inaugural member of the Society of Developmental Biology Academy. Dr. Melody Campbell received the Early Career Achievement in STEM award from the Association for Women in Science. Drs. Barry Stoddard and Jesse Bloom were elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences. Dr. Richard Adeyemi received the Early Career Investigator Grant from the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance. There were also multiple awards to faculty studying neurobiology: Dr. Akhila Rajan received a McKnight Award, Dr. Cecilia Moens received the NINDS Javits Award that provides 7 years of significant research funding, and Aakanksha Singhvi received both a Brain Research Foundation Grant as well as a Kleingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience. Dr. Arvind Subramaniam received the second NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award from the NIH Common Fund in Hutch history.
Many of the Division trainees also secured prestigious funding awards. Adeyemi Lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Rosevalentine Bosire was named a Brave Fellow, Malik Lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Grant King was named a Damon Runyon Fellow, Biggins Lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Changkun Hu was named a Jane Coffin Childs Fellow, Tsukiyama Lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Rina Hirano recieved both the the Osamu Hayaishi Memorial Scholarship for Study Abroad and the Uehara Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship, and Rajan Lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Mroj Alassaf was named a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow. Bai lab graduate student Cera Hassinan received the NIH Blueprint and BRAIN Initiative Diversity Specialized predoctoral to postdoctoral advancement in neuroscience award. It was also exciting that Campbell Lab graduate student Jeremy Hollis received 2023 Neiman Outstanding Graduate Student Award. We look forward to hearing about the research these awards catalyze in the future.
Another great achievement of 2023 was the launch of the Fred Hutch postbaccalaureate scholar program. Our division was heavily involved in the development of this program that will support individuals who recently completed undergraduate degrees and would benefit from research experience and training to successfully matriculate and complete a PhD program. The program will provide training that may have been unavailable or limited at many undergraduate academic institutions and also contribute to the diversity of our workforce. The program launched in August and the Division currently hosts four scholars and we look forward to adding more trainees to the program in 2024.
Finally, I want to thank and acknowledge the administrative support that is essential for our scientific success. We wish our dedicated research administrator Jeremy Mseitif a happy retirement in Indonesia and thank him for his years of service. We were fortunate to welcome a new Associate Vice President to the division in 2023. Christy Majorowicz was promoted to this position and will help us execute our strategic plans in the future. I’m looking forward to another great year of Basic Sciences discoveries in 2024!
Dr. Sue Biggins
Director of the Basic Sciences Division
Dr. Christopher Lapointe
Christopher Lapointe, PhD, joined the division following a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University, where he studied initiation of protein translation and how it becomes dysregulated in viral infections and cancers.
Lapointe is a biochemist who studies how human cells make proteins and how that process goes awry in human diseases. Proper control of protein synthesis determines precisely when, where, and how much of a protein is made. Abnormal protein synthesis is a nearly universal feature of cancers and viral infections. Lapointe and his research group examine how human and viral proteins target the molecular machineries in cells that synthesize proteins to dial protein production up or down. His group’s multidisciplinary strategy will define molecular models that help lay the groundwork for the development of new therapeutics.
Dr. Sanjay Srivatsan
Sanjay Srivastan, PhD, joined the division following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington, where he used sequencing and spatial transcriptomics to screen protein designs.
Srivatsan develops technologies that use the sequences of molecules like RNA or protein to reveal important biological relationships between molecules and between cells. He has created single-cell RNA sequencing techniques that increase the scale of single-cell RNA sequencing experiments and give information about which genes are turned on — and where — within cells and tissues. At Fred Hutch, he will continue to develop novel sequence-based technologies that enable scientists to examine relationships between molecules and trace cellular dynamics across vertebrate development.
Dr. Yasuhiro Arimura
The Arimura Lab will open its doors in February of 2024. Yasuhiro Arimura, PhD, will join us following a postdoctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University, where he pioneered a new cryoEM technique used to understand native chromatin structure in normal and diseased cells.
Arimura is focused on understanding the structure and function of chromatin. Throughout cellular differentiation and the many stages of the cell cycle, chromatin undergoes dynamic changes in its structure. There are various types of chromatin regions with specific functions, such as euchromatin (transcriptionally active regions), heterochromatin (transcriptionally inactive regions), telomeres (regions protecting chromosome ends), centromeres (regions forming kinetochores), transcription start sites, and compacted M-phase chromatin. Dysregulation of chromatin structures can lead to aberrant gene expression or aneuploidy, resulting in various diseases including cancer. The specific local chromatin structures in each type of chromatin region are therefore thought to play an instrumental role in exerting their specific functions. However, it remains unclear what local chromatin structures are formed in these regions and how these chromatin structures control the events on chromatin. The Arimura Lab aims to elucidate these mechanisms by identifying the structural basis of diverse chromatin functions by developing novel cryo-EM based methods.
A new Postbaccalaureate Scholar Program at Fred Hutch is providing participants with an exciting new opportunity to gain valuable, hands-on research experience and training with faculty at Fred Hutch. Launched May 15, the program is mutually beneficial, providing rigorous scientific training for future researchers while also providing Fred Hutch with a way to expand its pool of talent.
The idea for the program originated with Dr. Sue Biggins, director of the Basic Sciences Division, Dr. Susan Parkhurst, a professor in the Basic Sciences Division, and Dr. Nina Salama, senior vice president of the Office of Education and Training. After seeing how graduate students who had completed a postbaccalaureate, or postbac, program prior to joining Fred Hutch benefited from the training and experience they had received, Dr. Biggins decided it was time to create a program for Fred Hutch.
“Over the years, lots of faculty have been interested in having a postbac program and in my role as director, I realized I had the ability to catalyze it,” Dr. Biggins said.
She reached out to Drs. Parkhurst and Salama, and in the summer of 2022, the three began meeting as a committee to create a proposal for the program. Through the Faculty Leadership Academy Mentorship Program, Dr. Biggins brought in a final member to the planning committee, Dr. James Alvarez, associate professor in the Public Health Sciences Division and current director of the Postbaccalaureate Scholar Program.
By December 2022, the committee had a full proposal ready for Fred Hutch leadership to review and shortly after, received approval to move forward with the program. As they created the proposal, the planning committee reached out to Fred Hutch students who had previously participated in other postbac programs to better understand what they had liked and disliked about their programs.
“One thing we heard a lot is that postbacs are often on their own to write to faculty they are interested in working with after they are already accepted into a program, which can be stressful,” said Dr. Biggins.
To address this pain point, faculty who decide to participate are asked to provide brief descriptions of available research projects in advance. Once projects are vetted by the planning committee as a good training opportunity, they are listed for applicants to review so they can indicate which projects best align with their background and areas of interest as they apply. Additionally, faculty can see which applicants indicated interest in their projects, helping facilitate a strong match between faculty members and scholars.
Throughout the program, scholars will work full time in a lab mutually chosen with their supporting faculty member, as well as spend time each week on a curriculum designed to develop a foundation for further graduate studies and a career in research. Scholars will also have access to a wide range of educational and scientific development opportunities, including monthly mentoring meetings, seminars, and access to resources and guidance to help prepare them for the graduate school application and interview process. The two-year program is renewed annually, with the option for a flexible duration depending on the scholar’s circumstances. Ideal applicants for the program are recent graduates looking to gain research experience before pursuing advanced degrees, as well as individuals who have taken a break from their education and are looking to re-enter the field of research.
With its world-class research environment, hands-on experience, and educational and professional development opportunities, the Postbaccalaureate Scholar Program is an ideal launching pad for a career in science.
“The opportunity to recruit and train young scientists from diverse backgrounds and a wide range of experiences is truly exciting,” Dr. Alvarez said. “These postbac scholars will contribute to the research mission of Fred Hutch while receiving rigorous scientific training that will prepare them to become the next generation of scientific leaders.”
Learn More About the Fred Hutch Postbaccalaureate Program
Friends and colleagues from all over the world returned to Fred Hutch to honor the Malik Lab’s twentieth anniversary; the lab first opened its doors in 2003. Current and former trainees marked the occasion with a symposium, entitled The Return of the Red Queen, where they presented current work and highlighted the impact that Harmit Malik, PhD, has had on their lives and careers.
The symposium was organized by Malik Lab manager Aida de la Cruz, and former trainees Patrick Mitchell, PhD, and Matthew Daugherty, PhD. Its name draws inspiration from the Red Queen Hypothesis in evolutionary biology where creatures need to adapt to simply maintain their fitness within their environment.
The hypothesis’s name itself is in turn a literary reference to Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass. This concept is key to much of the Malik Lab’s research studying genetic conflict — the competition between genes and proteins with opposing functions that drive evolutionary change. Unraveling the mechanisms of competition both within and between organisms has significant implications for our understanding of viral infection and cancer.
“This is a great day to celebrate all of your and Harmit’s accomplishments," said Basic Sciences Director Sue Biggins, PhD, to the packed crowd in Pelton Auditorium. "You all have so much to be proud of.”
“You know it’s a special day because Harmit got up extra early,” she joked, before highlighting Malik’s impact on the division, as well as some of his many awards and accomplishments.
These include election to the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Society of Microbiology, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Malik also recently received the Novitski Prize in genetics research.
Biggins also emphasized one of the awards for which Malik is most proud, the McDougall Mentoring Award, which is selected by the Fred Hutch Student Postdoc Advisory Committee and was presented to Malik in 2018.
An 'ideal mentor'
“Harmit possesses genius not just in science, but also in the social and personal aspects of science as well," said Sara Sawyers, PhD, the Malik Lab’s very first postdoctoral fellow. "He is a powerful model of the ideal mentor that we all now strive to emulate.”
Malik first joined Fred Hutch in 1999 as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Basic Sciences faculty, Steve Henikoff, PhD; he said he was merely part of a "chain of exceptional mentoring received throughout his career" and that he knows his trainees will continue throughout theirs.
“Everything about me is really a reflection of what I’ve learned from my mentors,” Malik said. “What I learned from Steve is that he always has your back. And the wilder your idea, the more he would be along for the ride with you. He taught me that It’s better to be wrong in an interesting way than right in a boring way. Boring is not going to push the gears of science."
During Henikoff’s introduction to the Monday afternoon speakers, he recalled receiving Malik’s postdoctoral application, being impressed, and thinking, “How can I get him to come to my lab and how can we keep him at Fred Hutch?”
Henikoff’s hopes were not only met when Malik joined his lab, but were to be fully realized when Malik decided to stay at Fred Hutch, becoming a faculty member in 2003 when he opened his lab on the third floor of the Weintraub building. Starting in 2019, Malik has also began serving as co-associate director of Basic Sciences.
“I’m so grateful for everything he does for everyone in the division,” Biggins said. “We are super lucky to have him at the Hutch.”
Over his lab’s 20-year history, Malik has mentored or co-mentored over 80 graduate students, technicians, staff scientists and postdoctoral fellows. More than 30 of Malik’s current and ex-trainees gave talks across the symposium’s two days. Although, as Molly Ohainle, PhD, a Malik Lab alumna and current faculty member at University of California, Berkeley, pointed out, “There are no ex-trainees with Harmit. He will always be there to mentor you, even after you’ve left his lab.”
'Creativity and kindness'
The talks covered a wide range of topics, from developing better model systems for studying HIV to improving educational systems. In addition to sharing their work, the speakers all drew attention to the positive impact that Malik and their time in his lab has had on their lives, including former Malik Lab postdoctoral fellow Antoine Molaro, PhD.
“Being in the Malik Lab has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life,” Molaro said. “Harmit not only helped me find my voice in science but he also helped me work on myself to better mentor others. I wonder if I'll ever experience the level of creativity and kindness found in the Malik Lab. As we move in our careers, I know we all try to emulate what we've experienced while in the Malik Lab.”
Closing out the symposium, Malik mentioned that after a colleague heard about this anniversary celebration, they told him he was too young to retire. Malik was quick to waylay any fears — and elicit a round of cheers — by telling the symposium crowd, “I am not retiring!”
“It is a rare privilege to have nearly all my scientific influences, both my mentors and trainees, here in this room together," he said in closing. "I hope you get to have that privilege at some point in your life.”
The 2023 Basic Sciences Annual Retreat
This year we held an incredible retreat at the Lodge at St. Edward Park. We were able to meet many potential graduate recruits to the division, hear scientific updates from faculty including from our newest members, Chris Lapointe and Sanjay Srivatsan, and see talks from our keynote speakers, Drs. Scott Keeney and Samara Reck-Peterson. While the retreat was a day full of scientific talks and discussions, we also participated in a scavenger hunt that asked participants to explore the grounds, perform outlandish tasks, and answer trivia. Prior to the offsite events we held a poster session where trainees shared their latest discoveries. Each year we award special accolades to the best presented research.
First Prize Winners
Mroj Al Assaf: A novel role for mitochondrial particles as adipokines (Rajan Lab)
Allie Cheney: Role of the enteric nervous system in sensing microbial infections and immune responses (Talbot Lab)
Second Prize Winners
German Rojas: The role of non-neuronal cells in a Parkinson’s disease model in C. elegans (Singhvi Lab)
Austin Seroka: Developmental mechanisms specifying vagal innervation of somatic organ targets (Moens Lab)
Third Prize Winners
Vicktor Stjepic: Two septin complexes mediate actin dynamics during cell wound repair (Parkhurst Lab)
Changkun Hu: Single-molecule imaging reveals the temporal order of a whole-kinetochore assembly (Biggins Lab)
Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest
Every October, the Basic Sciences and Human Biology Divisions come together to show off their pumpkin carving prowess and compete for the top prizes.
Adeyemi Lab
Bai Lab
Biggins Lab
Bloom Lab
Bradley Lab
Brent Lab
Buck Lab
Campbell Lab
Cooper Lab
Eisenman Lab
Emerman Lab
Hahn Lab
Hatch Lab
Henikoff Lab
Koch Lab
Lapointe Lab
Lehrbach Lab
Malik Lab
Moens Lab
Parkhurst Lab
Priess Lab
Rajan Lab
Roth Lab
Setty Lab
Singhvi Lab
Smith Lab
Stoddard Lab
Strong Lab
Srivatsan Lab
Subramaniam Lab
Talbot Lab
Tsukiyama Lab
The Basic Sciences Division is excited to announce the promotion of Christy Majorowicz to associate vice president (AVP) of the division. In her new role, Christy will oversee strategic planning as well as operational, financial and human resources functions for Basic Sciences.
“Many of you have worked with Christy over the years and know that she brings a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience with her,” said Basic Sciences Division Director Sue Biggins, PhD, in her letter to the division announcing the promotion.
Christy first began her career at Fred Hutch a few years out of college, starting as a research program coordinator (a position now referred to as research administrator, or RA) — she has now been with Fred Hutch and the Basic Sciences Division for over 19 years. Some of the earliest labs she supported included current faculty Roland Strong and Barry Stoddard and recent emeritus faculty Mark Groudine.
Despite being a newcomer to research administration, Christy quickly discovered how much she enjoyed it. “This is a special place where administrators can have a lot of proximity to the science and are often very much a visible and active partner in the lab,” she said. “I really valued that close connection and the excitement of getting to see the full life cycle of research.”
Christy’s long history as a research administrator means she has repeatedly had the opportunity to see the impact RAs have in helping facilitate research at Fred Hutch. “There is always this light bulb moment for new research administrators when they start — this moment where they realize the actual impact of their work and they can see its tangibility,” she said. “You know they will spend two months learning the ins and outs of a grant proposal and when they receive their first notice that their investigator received this amazing award partially because of their efforts, it’s incredible. The lab’s wins become their wins, too.”
She has also seen how much the position has evolved, but she has always found the changes exciting. “The essential domain of knowledge that RAs are required to know is always getting bigger and bigger,” she said. “We're kind of considered generalists where we're doing a lot of different things — wearing so many different hats, even in a single day. I found that variety really fit my skill set and interests.”
In 2017, Christy was promoted to associate operations director of Basic Sciences, a new position at the time. The position has since been replicated across many of the other research divisions. During that time, she also served as interim associate vice president of the division before being fully promoted to the role in September of this year.
“Christy has been a partner on numerous projects both within Basic Sciences and across divisions and is respected for her deep institutional knowledge and creative ideas,” Sue Biggins said. “She has been instrumental in our facility and space-planning efforts and the onboarding of new team members — all while continuing to support our faculty. Throughout all of this, she has provided steady leadership with a positive, upbeat attitude. The division is incredibly grateful for her many years of service to Fred Hutch and Basic Sciences, and we are excited for what she’ll bring as associate vice president.”
Ultimately, Christy sees her role as an advocate for Basic Sciences, helping ensure that labs are well equipped and have the time to do the best possible science.
“The goal is to support faculty, help facilitate their research and maximize their time at the bench by reducing administrative burdens and streamlining as much as we can,” Christy said. “I really believe if you're going to spend your time working somewhere then it should be at a place that is fulfilling — in line with your personal ethos and values. We all want to feel like we're contributing to something important and that those contributions are needed. I’ve never had to worry about that at Fred Hutch.”
Jeremy Mseitif, Research Administrator, retired after almost twenty-two years in his role in Basic Sciences. Jeremy leaves a legacy of service and loyalty to his faculty and labs, and he will be greatly missed. The whole division wishes him all the best in his retirement.
Credits & Contact Info
Unless otherwise noted, this report was written and compiled by Matthew Ross. Photography by Robert Hood/Fred Hutch News Service, and Luna Yu.
Questions? Contact mtross@fredhutch.org