Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center celebrated the six-decade career of Rainer Storb,MD,PhD,a pioneer in bone marrow transplantation,with a symposium on Sept. 5, 2025. Storb’s work has been foundational to the advancement of the procedure, transforming it from an experimental treatment with limited success to a potentially curative therapy for numerous cancers and blood disorders.
“His CV has more pages than almost any of you have papers,” said Fred Hutch President and Director Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn during the symposium, highlighting the breadth and depth of Storb’s contributions.
Storb joined Fred Hutch in 1968, initially focusing on immunology. He quickly became involved in the early, high-risk attempts at bone marrow transplantation, a procedure first successfully performed by E. Donnall Thomas, MD, at the center in 1959. Early transplants faced significant hurdles,primarily graft-versus-host disease (GVHD),where the donor’s immune cells attacked the recipient’s tissues. Storb’s research was instrumental in understanding and mitigating GVHD thru the development of improved immunosuppressive regimens.Throughout the 1970s and 80s, storb led clinical trials that dramatically improved transplant outcomes for patients with leukemia and other hematological malignancies.He pioneered the use of total body irradiation as a conditioning regimen before transplant, enhancing its effectiveness. His work also extended to refining techniques for matching donors and recipients, minimizing the risk of rejection and GVHD.
in the 1990s, Storb’s research expanded to include haploidentical transplantation – using donors who are only a partial match – opening the procedure to a wider range of patients who previously lacked suitable donors.He continued to innovate in the 21st century,exploring strategies to enhance graft-versus-leukemia effects and reduce transplant-related complications.
Storb’s contributions have been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 2006. He remains an active researcher and mentor at Fred Hutch, continuing to shape the future of bone marrow transplantation.
The celebration of Storb’s career was hosted by the Cancer History Project, a free, collaborative archive of oncology history aiming to engage the scientific community and the general public in a dialogue on progress in cancer research and revelation. The project is supported by sponsors including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and others, and is backed by 60 partners spanning academic cancer centers, government agencies, and advocacy groups. Listeners can learn more about the history of oncology through the project’s monthly podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
