Kate Markey named Innovators Network Endowed Chair

Dr. Kate Markey, assistant professor (Hematology and Oncology) has recently been named the next holder of the Innovators Network Endowed Chair. Created by members of Fred Hutch’s Innovators Network, the endowed chair gives early-career scientists flexible funding to pursue high-risk, high-reward research with clear potential to benefit patients.

Markey is a bone marrow transplant physician and researcher whose work focuses on how bacteria in the gut can affect recovery after patients receive a bone marrow transplant or cellular immunotherapy. With support from the chair, she plans to deepen her research into ways of preventing or easing serious complications that can follow these treatments.

Unlike most endowed chairs at Fred Hutch, which carry the name of a family or individual, the Innovators Network Endowed Chair reflects the collective power of a community. On the network’s 10th anniversary in 2018, members came together to build this lasting source of support.

Every three years, the chair is awarded to a new early-career scientist whose work demonstrates creativity, collaboration, innovation and strong potential for patient impact, including through data science and emerging technologies.