Paul G Allen Research Center
Grateful for the care he received, the late philanthropist Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, made a personal bequest of $20 million to Swedish. The gift, made shortly after his death in 2018, supports the formation of the Paul G. Allen Research Center at Swedish Cancer Institute (SCI) and funds research that will change how we treat and care for patients with cancer.
Mr. Allen’s gift builds upon SCI's legacy – nearly 90 years strong – of giving our physicians and researchers the latest tools and technology to transform our understanding of cancer, its treatment and ultimately, its prevention.
The center’s multi-omics approach to research will be driven by a broad and detailed collection of clinical and genomic data, as well as comprehensive information about how individual patients respond to treatment. One data point can tell us very little; however, when combined with data from tens of thousands of patients over time, patterns will emerge that can potentially unlock the secrets of how cancer forms and grows—and reveal new, more effective ways to treat it.
Through the center, our physician researchers will launch a multi-pronged approach to cancer care centered around three pillars:
The Initiative for Molecular and Genomic Evaluation of Cancer will expand our collection and analysis of genetic, molecular and clinical data so we can better understand how cancer evolves, evades treatment and the mechanisms that drive its development and growth.
The Center for Immuno-oncology will develop therapies that harness a patient’s own immune system to treat cancer.
The Initiative for Cancer Prevention and Early Detection will work to improve new methods for cancer detection and ultimately work toward cancer prevention.