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Geoffrey Hill, MD, FRACP, FRCPA, was recently announced as the recipient of the Leonard and Norma Klorfine Endowed Chair for Clinical Research at Fred Hutch Cancer Center. A world-renowned blood stem cell transplantation physician-scientist, Hill joined Fred Hutch in 2018 to continue his leading-edge work in bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapy.
As senior vice president and director of the Translational Science and Therapeutics Division at Fred Hutch, Hill leads a team of 55 lab-based principal investigators in Seattle’s historic Lake Union Steam Plant building. In addition to his work in the lab, Hill maintains a strong connection with clinical work, regularly seeing transplant patients at Fred Hutch.
Funding life-changing breakthroughs
The Klorfine chair was established in celebration of the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary, with the goal of funding a physician-scientist who dedicates each day to improving health and saving lives through world-class research. It was originally awarded to David Maloney, MD, PhD, in recognition of his pioneering work in immunotherapy. Maloney retired in 2024, and Hill was named the new recipient.
The timing of the award aligns with a significant milestone in Fred Hutch history. Leonard and Norma Klorfine originally established their chair in 2015 in celebration of Fred Hutch’s 40th anniversary. 2025 marks the organization’s 50th anniversary, and Hill’s chair announcement is symbolic of Fred Hutch’s continued dedication to research breakthroughs.
“Fred Hutch is the vanguard for new medical discoveries which prolong our lives,” said Leonard Klorfine. “Their research is cutting edge for developing new products, and we’re happy to participate in supporting the experts doing this important work.”
Funding new ideas and critical collaboration
With Hill at the helm, his research team primarily explores transplant immunology and issues related to host disease, immune response, relapse and infection. They have more recently expanded their area of focus into cell therapy, with a particular emphasis on breakthroughs in myeloma and acute leukemia.
“Overall, we try and find pathways of disease that we can interrupt and take those lessons to clinic for use in clinical studies.” Hill explained. “Then, we analyze samples from the trial and confirm our hypotheses.”
The Klorfines’ generous gift ensures he and his team can do the foundational data collection that’s necessary to secure vital National Institutes of Health grant funding. Laying the groundwork for these grant opportunities often requires significant collaboration with experts both within Fred Hutch and across the country and world.
“This collaboration is critical to foster relationships with peers at the highest level that ensure the Fred Hutch science and clinical practice remains at the cutting edge internationally,” Hill said. “The support of this endowment provides unparalleled training opportunities with premier national and international centers and bolsters Fred Hutch’s reputation and competitiveness in the scientific community.”
Building a pipeline of principal investigators
When Hill chose to bring his research practice to Fred Hutch after almost 20 years running his own lab in Australia, he brought with him a cadre of fellow Australian ex-pat investigators. Since then, he’s seen some of his post-doctoral investigators “leave the nest” to start their own labs, both at Fred Hutch and at other institutions around the world — a testament to the reputation of his lab. This reputation has also helped him recruit new investigators, including a new group with specific expertise in CAR T-cell research.
With support from the Klorfine endowed chair, Hill is confident that he’ll continue to retain great talent and help his investigators be prepared for future success. “We’re only as good as the people we can recruit,” Hill quipped.
Paving the way for future breakthroughs
At Fred Hutch, donors can choose to endow a chair for a faculty member with a gift of $2 million or more. Fred Hutch currently has 41 endowed chairs, which allow donors to partner with scientists and clinicians and invest in high-risk, high-reward research. Endowed chairs provide sustained, flexible support and promote forward-looking research.
“Clinical discoveries arise from spectacular science,” said Thomas J. Lynch Jr., MD, president and director of Fred Hutch and holder of the Raisbeck Endowed Chair. “We’re so grateful to the Klorfines for the depth and breadth of their support, which allows us to double down on research that can serve as the foundation for the biggest cancer breakthroughs.”
