Michael Linenberger retiring after more than 36 years of service

When Michael Linenberger, MD, retires from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center at the end of 2022, his legacy will be felt by coworkers, trainees, patients and their families long after he has left the building after his last full day.

After arriving to Seattle in 1986 as a hematology fellow at UW, Linenberger rose to become medical director of apheresis and cellular therapy for Fred Hutch as well as for the Fred Hutch Cellular Processing Facility and the regional marrow-collection center for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), roles he has held for more than two decades.

Earlier this year, he was awarded one of the highest honors in the field of apheresis, the Presidential Award from the American Society of Apheresis, for his career-long contributions.

The honor recognizes that “one can make a huge impact by being a hard-working ‘foot soldier’ in the ongoing efforts to improve donor safety, patient care and outcomes, evidence-based practice and education/training,” said Linenberger at the time.

His considerable leadership experience aside, he’s quick to add even now, “I’ve always felt comfortable being not the general but the foot soldier. The big advances I’ve been part of at Fred Hutch have been in support of my colleagues who were making the discoveries at the cutting edge.”

“The most remarkable thing about Mike is that his knowledge of hematology and hematologic malignancies is encyclopedic,” said Janis Abkowitz, MD, head of the Division of Hematology, who has known Linenberger for more than 35 years. “Just as notable is what he’s contributed to education and mentorship — locally by running our fellowship program, first in hematology and then in hematology-oncology, and nationally” as co-chair of the 2005 American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting education program, chair of the ASH Committee on Educational Affairs and an incoming chair of the ASH Nominating Committee.