Numerous research advances, as well as the Center's ability to attract and retain the top scientists in their fields, depend heavily on the availability of state-of-the-art laboratory space, cutting-edge technologies and highly skilled staff to operate them.
The Center has state-of-the-art laboratories and offices in a campus-like setting where world-class scientists can flourish and interact, in an environment conducive to generating new discoveries. Scientists place a premium on the quality of their environment and research thrives when conducted in high-quality, flexible labs designed with meaningful interaction in mind. Each lab floor accommodates six principal investigators, grouped according to common research interests. Research laboratories are located along the perimeter of the buildings, and each lab unit contains two to three shared equipment corridors that extend across the width of the support core, connecting labs across the building. Researchers attribute much of their success as an institution to the interaction and collaboration among the individuals who work there.
With a focus on health, sustainability and energy efficiency the Center has been recognized with more than 25 awards for energy conservation and environmental leadership because of its commitment to a healthy environment. Architecture Magazine wrote that the Center's "laboratories are distinguished from those at other research institutions not only by their adaptable character, but also by their careful integration into an efficient, machine-like system of offices, support spaces and equipment rooms."
Investment in such spaces, shared research equipment and staff is one of the Hutchinson Center's top priorities but represents a major annual financial commitment that is not supported by federal grants. Gifts of flexible funds have contributed to a number of essential investments in the Hutchinson Center's 30 shared resources. Among them:
Acquisition of new imaging technologies has enabled our scientists to visualize tumor onset and growth in mice. Imaging provides powerful opportunities for the development of new diagnostic tests and treatments, which must be tested in mice before they can be made available to people with cancer and other diseases. Dr. Jim Olson and colleagues have used these technologies to develop new "tumor painting" techniques that hold promise for improving surgical removal of childhood brain tumors while minimizing damage to healthy brain cells.
DNA arrays allow scientists to examine the activity of thousands of genes simultaneously. Such experiments can illuminate genes involved in cancer onset and progression and provide the foundation for new tests to predict disease prognosis or uncover targets for drugs or other treatments. Dr. Jerry Radich recently used this technology to develop a "molecular clock" of the progression of chronic myeloid leukemia, which could enable doctors to customize treatment precisely to a patient's individual condition and improve the chances of survival. Upgrades to the Center's array facility will significantly increase the speed at which advances like these can be made.
Flow cytometry is used to determine physical characteristics of cells — including size, shape, DNA content and protein content — as they move past a detector. Using this technique, scientists identify observable changes in DNA or protein that can be used to detect cancer earlier and to predict and monitor response to therapy. Flow cytometry has allowed Dr. Brian Reid and colleagues to follow the genetic changes that occur in precancerous cells and use this information to predict a patient's risk of developing esophageal cancer. Those high-risk patients can then be monitored rigorously, allowing most cancer cases to be detected so early that patients have a high chance of survival. A new instrument has been added to the Hutchinson Center's flow cytometry facility that provides more specific sorting of cells based on their characteristics and will aid these and other research studies.
