Faculty spotlight: Lawrence Fong

The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium highlighted Dr. Lawrence (Larry) Fong, professor (Hematology and Oncology) this month.

Fong joined the University of Washington in 2024 and was named the Bezos Family Distinguished Scholar in Immunotherapy at Fred Hutch Cancer Center (FHCC), where he is scientific director of the Immunotherapy Integrated Research Center (IIRC).

Throughout his career, Fong has focused on the development, application, and understanding of immunotherapy for cancer. His research explores the mechanisms of response and resistance to cancer immunotherapies in both preclinical models and in cancer patients. His work has been instrumental in the approval of multiple therapies, including sipuleucel-T for prostate cancer and immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies.

As director of the IIRC at Fred Hutch, he leads teams in basic, translational, and clinical research, including first-in-human trials of both cellular and non-cellular immunotherapies. His research has been published in various scientific journals, including Cell, Science, Nature, and The New England Journal of Medicine.

“Fred Hutch has been at the center of immunotherapy having pioneered bone marrow transplantation,” he said. “Success with this approach did not come overnight; it took decades. While we have had some great successes in immunotherapy, I believe that progress will require iteration and refining our approaches as we see how they work in our patients. This is a concept ingrained at Fred Hutch.”

The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium, established in 2013, combines the cancer centers of the Big Ten Conference to conduct multi-institutional research led by clinical and scientific researchers at member institutions. The University of Washington/Fred Hutch Cancer Center was invited to join in 2024.