uw medicine
March 5, 2025
United vision
A new relationship between UW Medicine and Fred Hutch creates the UW’s nationally renowned adult cancer program.
September 12, 2024
Care for all
UW Medicine opens a new center for behavioral health care and for training the next generation of mental health professionals.
June 7, 2024
Sketches: Dana Robertson-Halter
Dana Robertson-Halter tells us about her seal encounter last summer near Decatur Island.
February 23, 2024
Alzheimer’s ‘milestone’
Doctors describe a new drug as a first step toward revolutionizing the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
November 26, 2023
Hometown health care
Raised on a dairy farm, Wyatt Bowles dreamed of becoming a hometown doctor. Thanks to scholarship support at the UW, that dream can come true.
Delivering hope
A UW program works to improve maternal health outcomes for Black women and other underserved community members.
November 25, 2023
Probing a mystery
A UW center takes an innovative approach to solving one of medicine’s vexing problems: when organ transplants mysteriously lead to cancer.
October 6, 2023
A hungry tiger fights best
Toshio Akamatsu began his career as a member of John Bonica's legendary team of pain management experts. Akamatsu died this year at the age of 89.
May 29, 2023
Lifesaving ideas
Dr. Leonard Cobb, a UW professor in the 1960s, devoted his career to lifesaving initiatives like Seattle’s Medic One paramedic program.
February 25, 2023
Comeback trail
One athlete journeys from injury to recovery with the help of sports medicine experts at the UW.
Opioid game-changer
Vaccines show promise for treating addiction to oxycodone, heroin and other addictive substances.
November 27, 2022
A medical emergency
The UW struggles to enroll Black medical students—a trend that is playing out across the nation.
December 4, 2021
Why get a booster?
Marion Pepper of the School of Medicine helps us better understand the latest COVID-19 shot.
October 21, 2021
Personalizing care
Margaret Towolawi, ’10, adopts a new model for health care that promotes closer doctor-patient relationships.
September 11, 2021
Airlift in action
UW Medicine's air ambulance service transports about 3,600 patients a year from as far off as Alaska and Montana as well as points all around Washington.
September 4, 2021
Fred Hutch, SCCA merging
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, UW Medicine, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Seattle Children’s are restructuring their relationship,.
Hope and healing
A researcher combats cancer with the help of UW doctors and tools developed by his colleagues.
Crisis state
Washington has a shortage of mental-health workers and high demand for treatment. The UW is at the center of efforts to turn the tide.
Healthy collaboration
The UW’s six health sciences schools share a mission to improve care and soon will share a new building.
June 21, 2021
Professors nonpareil
One year into remote learning, these seven distinguished scholars kept class as fresh and relevant as ever. Find a seat and meet your 2021 Distinguished Teachers of the Year.
June 1, 2021
Speeding up the science
Curtis and Elizabeth Anderson lost their daughter to an uncommon form of cancer. Their philanthropy aims to expand research and bring hope to patients and their families.
March 11, 2021
Aiming at COVID-19
A year after it became one of the first academic labs in the U.S. to develop a COVID-19 test, the UW Medicine Virology Lab continues to innovate in response to the pandemic.
Helen Chu honored
University of Washington Medicine professor Dr. Helen Chu, ’12, “Washingtonian of the Year” by the Washington State Leadership Board.
The other pandemic: racism
Members of the UW community join to fight “white supremacy as a lethal public health issue.”
December 9, 2020
Holistic view
The first Filipino American to graduate from UW medical school, Fernando Vega helped open the path to alternative medicine in the U.S.
September 21, 2020
Racing a pandemic
Thanks to years of foresight, funding and preparation, two UW labs have been on the forefront of COVID-19 testing.
A twist of fate
Ayan Hassan’s life was changed by the Making Connections program—and then unexpectedly saved by one of the program’s founders.
September 16, 2020
Double trouble
With flu season coming, doctors and public health officials worry that an outbreak of influenza in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic could wipe out our health care system.
September 11, 2020
For our health
The UW is putting its combined brainpower into population health, improving lives around the world.
Our lives, disrupted
We asked three UW experts—a historian, a leader in education and an expert in infectious disease—how we might use this time of challenge and change to plan for a better future.
July 7, 2020
Protein power
Professor David Baker’s audacious approach to creating new proteins may offer new options for stopping disease—including COVID-19.
June 4, 2020
Ahead of the curve
Fast, accurate COVID-19 testing quickly went into effect here, thanks to the heroic efforts of UW Medicine faculty and staff.
Smallpox slayer's wisdom
William Foege, ’61, was instrumental in wiping smallpox off the face of the Earth. The lessons he learned in that fight offer wisdom as we face COVID-19.
March 30, 2020
Eye on baby's breath
A UW team has used hardware similar to an Amazon Echo to create a smart speaker that detects the breathing motions of an infant’s chest.
May 22, 2019
John N. “Jack” Lein (1926-2019)
Thanks in part to people like Jack Lein, ’55, UW Medicine created a first-of-its-kind program to educate physicians in rural areas.
November 30, 2018
3 hearts, 1 full life
An adventurous alum stricken with heart disease as a young man is thriving after undergoing two heart transplants.
June 4, 2018
Drug price isn't right
There’s a new blockbuster drug that could save the lives of thousands of people with type 2 diabetes in the U.S.
June 2, 2018
Mr. Smith’s journey
With core values formed by his Chehalis upbringing, Orin Smith went on to become a business leader who knew how to treat people right.
March 5, 2018
Stop the bleed
It only takes a few minutes to bleed to death, but bystanders with a little knowledge can save lives.
January 9, 2018
Rural rescue
Connecting UW Medicine research to primary care clinics around the region.
December 7, 2017
The opioid boom
The prevailing practice for treating addiction to painkillers led to the worst man-made epidemic in modern medical history.
September 28, 2017
Kidney on a chip
A NASA rocket will blast off for the International Space Station carrying a UW research project called “kidney-on-a-chip.”
September 13, 2017
Transplants on the double
UW Medicine’s innovation could yield better results for kidney patients.
December 13, 2016
On the mend
No matter the fate of the Affordable Care Act, UW faculty and alumni continue to seek remedies for our health care system.
September 1, 2016
The med student is in
While classroom instruction is crucial for learning the scientific foundations of medicine, there is no substitute for firsthand clinical experience. That’s why the UW School of Medicine launched a new curriculum last year that puts an earlier and greater emphasis on clinical training.
June 1, 2016
Dying with dignity
Columns staff writer Julie Garner talks to two men facing death, and the people who care for them.
March 1, 2016
Test driven
Here, we present the tales of two clinical trials of technology that one day could alleviate suffering and improve lives for the hundreds of thousands of people suffering from severe heart problems and kidney failure.
December 1, 2015
The silent stroke
If a stroke should occur, the unparalleled care at UW Medicine's Harborview Medical Center will give you your best shot.
September 1, 2015
Relationships first
Genetic ethicist Wylie Burke keeps people in mind as she studies advances in medicine and public health.
December 1, 2014
Can't weight
Obesity-associated insulin resistance is a major risk factor for Type 2 diabetes. UW researchers are now looking at obesity and its interdependent relationship to the disease.
New dawn of dialysis
At the UW, the birthplace of kidney dialysis, a clinical trial has been approved to test the safety and effectiveness of a wearable artificial kidney. Not counting preliminary studies, it is the first human trial of its kind in the United States.
June 1, 2014
Spokane solution
Expanding medical education in Eastern Washington’s largest city will address a key problem: increasing the number of primary care physicians in rural and underserved areas.
December 1, 2013
Immortal life
The cover of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks succinctly proclaims the book’s storyline: “Doctors took her cells without asking. Those cells never died. They launched a medical revolution and a multimillion-dollar industry. More than 20 years later, her children found out. Their lives would never be the same.”
June 1, 2013
Reconstructing hope
Diane Mapes shares her personal journey through breast reconstruction, using a new approach at UW Medicine.
March 1, 2013
Quick implant
Sixty minutes was all it took for Jordan Prutkin, a UW cardiologist, to implant a new, improved kind of defibrillator in Merle Yoney’s chest.
September 1, 2012
Defeating disease
Dr. Bill Foege, ’61, is a global health leader, affiliate professor of epidemiology at the UW School of Public Health, and recipient of a 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Hope for broken hearts
Cardiology researchers at the UW are engaged in exciting work to explore whether a patient’s own stem cells can foster the regeneration of damaged heart muscle.
June 1, 2012
A bridge to life
A backpack power supply runs the artificial heart Chris Marshall received from UW Medical Center.
Country care
The UW School of Medicine’s multi-regional medical program, WWAMI, is celebrating 40 years—and some serious accomplishments.
December 1, 2011
Albert Rosellini, 1910-2011
Without the help of politician Albert Rosellini, ’32, ’33, who died Oct. 10 at the age of 101, the University of Washington School of Medicine might not exist today.
Team transplant
Team Transplant is made up of dozens of transplant recipients, their spouses, parents, children and friends. They represent the importance of organ donation, and what it means to truly be alive.
June 1, 2011
C. Benjamin Graham Jr., 1931-2011
C. Benjamin Graham Jr., ’58, ’62, was the first student in a wheelchair to graduate from medical school at the University of Washington—and possibly the first in the nation.
March 1, 2011
Surgery offers hope
University of Washington surgeons in October performed the world’s first surgical procedure to implant a device that could give hope to millions of people suffering from Ménière’s disease — an insidious, mysterious disorder.
March 1, 2010
Life-saving loophole
Fifty years ago, UW doctors developed the Scribner shunt, a simple device that created a literal loophole in the death sentence doled out to those suffering with end-stage kidney disease.
June 1, 2009
The first bioengineer
Wayne Quinton not only designed a laundry list of life-saving medical devices, but became the first practitioner of an entirely new field: bioengineering.
March 1, 2009
The healing arts
Last fall, the UW School of Medicine and the Henry Art Gallery teamed up to offer a new course to help medical students develop their diagnostic skills by visiting art museums.
March 1, 2008
Trouble in mind
UW researchers are trying to untangle the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease before it reaches epidemic proportions.
September 1, 2007
Genetics prize winner
According to the Gruber Foundation, the human genome would have been “an impossible jigsaw puzzle” without the work of UW Medicine and Genome Sciences Professor Maynard Olson.
June 1, 2007
Bad blood
As many as 3 million Americans are carrying the hepatitis C virus — but most don’t even know it. The UW is trying to crack its code before more potential carriers get the bad news.
Winning streaks
The UW has the top primary care medical school and the top nursing school in the country, according to annual rankings of graduate and professional programs provided by U.S. News & World Report.
December 1, 2006
New generation
UW scientists have made important first steps toward the day when they will be able to grow livers, hearts and other replacement tissue from stem cells.
Legacy of giving
Moments after Ellsworth C. “Buster” and Nancy D. Alvord received the Gates Volunteer Service Award at the Fifth Annual Recognition Gala Sept. 8, the couple made a surprise announcement. They will help create a Center of Excellence for Neuro-oncology at the University by establishing with their family six new endowed faculty chairs.
September 1, 2006
50 years for the heart
Fifty years ago, the UW perfected its own heart-lung machine and did the first open-heart bypass surgery in the West. Now advances are coming so quickly that they could put future cardiac surgeons out of business.
Top 10 again
For the fourth consecutive year, the UW Medical Center ranks among the top-10 hospitals in the nation. U.S. News & World Report’s 2006 guide to America’s Best Hospitals rated UWMC 10th, the magazine announced July 10.
Making his name
Though he was thrust into the spotlight after his father, "Today Show" movie critic Gene Shalit, sparked nationwide controversy, Seattle physician Peter Shalit, ’81, ’90, doesn’t need a media flap for attention—his reputation and credentials stand on their own.
March 1, 2006
Global health mission
The UW Board of Regents approved the creation of a new Department of Global Health that has the potential to change the lives of millions around the world.
Unbroken spirits
When an accident broke Kirk Hennig's neck, he was sent to one of the best rehabilitation centers in the nation, led by one of its top doctors. Now he's sharing his insights with other injured patients.
September 1, 2005
Oversight urged
After a 10-month review of billing problems in physician groups attached to UW Medicine, a panel has recommended appointing a compliance officer who answers only to the vice president for medicine affairs.
June 1, 2005
Loss and recovery
Harborview Medical Center sees approximately 150 amputation cases a year. More than half of these surgeries come from traumatic injuries, as opposed to the disease- and age-related amputations done at most hospitals. As a result, Harborview is nationally recognized as a leader in amputation technology and techniques.
March 1, 2005
Donation for science
The philanthropy of Genome Sciences and Biology Professor Benjamin D. Hall and his wife, Margaret A. Hall, ’84, is creating future support for graduate students in biology and genome sciences at the UW.
June 1, 2004
$35 million settlement
The University of Washington will pay $35 million to settle a lawsuit charging massive billing fraud in Medicare, Medicaid and other government health plans at three hospitals and local physicians clinics.
June 1, 2003
Top ranked
The University of Washington is No. 1 among primary care medical schools, and No. 1 among nursing schools in the new U.S. News & World Report annual rankings of graduate programs and professional schools.
March 1, 2003
Prize catch
A leader of the Human Genome Project joins the UW to help unlock further secrets to the code of life.
September 1, 2002
Genome chief
One of the world’s most notable genome scientists, Robert H. Waterston, will become chair of the new Department of Genome Sciences at the UW School of Medicine.
June 1, 2002
Med School tops list
The University of Washington has the top primary-care medical school in the nation, according to the 2002 U.S. News & World Report annual rankings of graduate programs and professional schools.
Fatal inheritance
After losing her mother and brother to pancreatic cancer, Sheri Mayer faced the difficult choice of having her pancreas removed or trying to beat the odds.
December 1, 2001
Nobel Laureate
UW Genetics Professor Lee Hartwell won the 2001 Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology for his basic research on cell division.
Sound solution
UW scientists, with the aid of some bird brains, may have found an answer to hearing loss: bringing dead cells back to life.
Appendix misfires
In nearly one of four appendectomies performed in women of childbearing age, the removed appendix is actually not infected, according to a UW study.
June 1, 2001
41 in the top 10
The University of Washington is No. 1 among primary-care medical schools and nursing schools in the U.S. News & World Report annual rankings of graduate programs and professional schools.
June 1, 1999
Generations of giving
Three generations of the Alvord family are donating $3 million to create two new endowed chairs at the UW School of Medicine
March 1, 1999
Fore fathers
The UW golf course was doomed the day the University decided to build the School of Medicine.
September 1, 1997
George Aagaard, 1913-1997
George N. Aagaard served as the second dean of the University of Washington medical school during its formative years.
June 1, 1997
At research center, patients take on risk for the sake of a cure
From bone marrow transplants to cancer vaccines, patients in the Clinical Research Center opt for experiments that could save lives, maybe even their own.
December 1, 1996
Pausing the pain
UW doctors turn to drugs, hypnosis and even virtual reality to ease patients’ suffering.
Medical School dean, wife and guides killed in Nepal
The Fialkows had been vacationing in Nepal on a trek with six guides to visit the 800-year-old Tse Gomba Buddhist monastery.
June 1, 1994
Calling the shots
William Foege, a 1961 graduate of the UW School of Medicine, has been named the 1994 UW Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus.
Top-10 programs
Four UW graduate programs are in the top 10 in their respective fields, according to a U.S. News and World Report survey published March 21.
Lasting impression
Dr. William Foege, took his first steps on the path to global eradication of smallpox when he attended the UW medical school in the late 1950s.