Center News
December 2006
A faculty first: the $1.5 million challenge
Basic Sciences Division's Jim Roberts, wife Pamela Becker raise the bar for Hutch Holiday Gala patrons
Dr. Jim Roberts and wife Pamela Becker's "Help the Hutch" challenge gift will establish a pilot-study Synergy Fund for collaborative Center research.
Photo by Stephanie Cartier |
It's a question Basic Sciences Division Director Dr. Jim Roberts has pondered for many of his 22 years at the Hutchinson Center: how to give back in a way that would both honor the Center's collaborative spirit and reward innovation.
Though his inclination was to make a discreet lump-sum donation, a discussion with Center Development staff convinced Roberts of the potential compounding effect of an appeal to donors at this year's Hutch Holiday Gala. The result: Roberts and wife Pamela Becker decided to donate up to $1.5 million during the "Help the Hutch" portion of the live auction, where every dollar donated by a guest will be matched. It will be the first time a Center faculty member has provided a Gala challenge gift to boost the fund-raising potential of the Center's largest benefit event. The anticipated $3 million or more in proceeds will establish a new source of pilot-study funding called the Synergy Fund. "Synergy" refers to the fund's unique emphasis on promoting collaborative research at the Center. To be considered for funding, two or more independent yet complementary new research proposals would be submitted together for review by a panel of internal peers.
Through the Synergy Fund, Roberts hopes to help compensate for the diminishing availability of pilot-study funds from other sources such as the National Institutes of Health. "As a research premise progresses toward having practical applications, funding becomes comparatively easy to secure," Roberts said. "New ideas are the hardest to fund; therefore it's those new ideas that require the most support. The Synergy Fund will support early stage research that holds the potential to make the greatest impact."
Roberts, an expert on the cell cycle and cancer, focuses his own research on key proteins that regulate cell division and how alterations in those proteins could lead to cancer. The money he and Becker are donating to the Center comes from his research applications and the founding of biotechnology ventures, including Targeted Growth, a Seattle-based company that develops ways to increase the yield of commercially important crops.
A commitment of supportRoberts downplays the novelty of his Gala challenge pledge, citing other faculty members who have made gestures such as donating Nobel Prize money to the Center. "Through discoveries in the lab, I was fortunate to be able to develop patented technology that has been licensed to biotechnology firms," Roberts said. "These discoveries were made possible through interactions with many other scientists at the Center and elsewhere. I view the Synergy Fund as a way to affirm our commitment to promising young scientists by supporting their new and novel research pursuits."
Roberts earned his doctorate and medical degrees from Columbia University in 1984, at which time he joined the Center as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Harold Weintraub's laboratory. He became a faculty member at the Center in 1988, and in 2004 was named division director.
Becker is a Seattle native and University of Washington alumna. She has served on the board of the Giddens School, as a volunteer for school libraries, and in the local scholastic-chess community. Roberts and Becker have two teenagers, Jacob and Emma, who will join their parents to present the challenge at the Gala.
In addition to funding pilot studies through the Synergy Fund, Roberts and Becker anticipate their challenge gift will enhance donors' understanding of pilot-research funding and the Center's reputation for innovation. "We'll ask the big donors to join with a scientist to help the Center create a base of knowledge for new discoveries, some of which will become clinically useful," Roberts said. "And we believe the Synergy Fund will continue to hold appeal for new donors and therefore may become self-sustaining."
The 31st annual Hutch Holiday Gala will be held at 5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers. The black-tie event will feature live and silent auctions, an elegant dinner and late-night dancing, with more than 850 business and community leaders in attendance. For more information or to make a contribution to the Synergy Fund, call (206) 667-5423.
