A Message from our President:

Margaret Niver McGann

There is nothing quite as inspiring as sitting down with the ARCS scholars and university faculty we serve to hear how much our support matters to them. We could not be more proud of the important research and young scientists we engaged with during our annual site visit to WSU's Pullman campus.

We also had the pleasure of touring the lab of Dr. Nora Disis of UW Medicine's Cancer Vaccine Institute. You may recall she spoke at our fall kickoff event, and this visit to her lab was just as engaging. Read on for a few highlights from our CVI tour as well as our recent visit to WSU.

Your support matters - really matters - to graduate students and faculty at the UW and WSU. Recruitment is now underway at our universities, and we are committed to supporting over 55 new ARCS Scholars this fall. Investing in a fellowship or sharing a fellowship with another donor is one of the most meaningful opportunities to directly impact the life of a student. You can learn more about this by reading the article below. Thank you for many ways you invest in future STEM leaders and innovators through your support of ARCS Foundation.

UW Medicine's Cancer Vaccine Institute

Dr. Nora Disis

Cancer Vaccine Institute

Scientists at Seattle’s Cancer Vaccine Institute inch closer to a medical moonshot 100 years in the making.

ARTICLE EXERPT FROM SEATTLE MET MAGAZINE January 23, 2023

Dr. Nora Disis, director of the Cancer Vaccine Institute at UW Medicine and a University of Washington and Fred Hutch Cancer Center faculty member, is on the verge of the greatest accomplishment of her 30-plus-year career: a breast cancer vaccine.

Last November in the medical journal JAMA Oncology, Disis and her team published the phase 1 trial results of a DNA vaccine targeting a protein known as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, or HER2, produced in about 30 percent of breast cancers. Sixty-six women with advanced-stage metastatic breast cancer received the shot and were monitored for a median of 10 years. By the trial’s end, 80 percent of the participants were still alive—a colossal success considering only half of patients with similar stages of breast cancer survive after five years. Read full article here.

A few pictures from our recent CVI lab tour are included below. Thank you, Dr. Disis, for your important research and for taking time to talk with our members and donors.

Annual Site Visit to

Washington State University

Earlier this month, Washington State University welcomed ARCS Seattle Chapter with open arms and hearts during our annual site visit to the Pullman campus. Twelve representatives from the Seattle Chapter attended this annually held meeting required by ARCS' National organization. The purpose of this meeting was to connect with our WSU scholars and faculty and learn how we might better support the university's efforts to recruit the best and brightest STEM graduate students. During our time in Pullman, we heard presentations from a new department of interest, Electrical Engineering, shared meals with and learned from our scholars, and enjoyed dinner with WSU Chancellor Elizabeth Chilton and Vice Provost Tammy Barry.

Our relationship with WSU began in 2000, when ARCS Seattle Chapter gave its first fellowships to Washington State University graduate students. Since that time, we have given $3.6 million to over 235 WSU ARCS Scholars. In addition, ARCS and our members and donors have established 10 Named Endowments totaling $2.5M. We are proud to partner with WSU in advancing science across our state and region - Go Cougs!

ARCS Scholar & Donor Spotlight

Malika Hale, UW

Molecular & Cellular Biology

Sandy & Kent Carlson with

Luciana Simoncini & Todd Scheuer

ARCS Foundation offers a unique funding model which gives donors and scholars opportunities to learn from one another and connect during the 3 year ARCS Fellowship term. As we begin to recruit new ARCS scholars for the fall, our chapter simultaneously recruits individuals to support them. These ARCS supporters may choose to fund an ARCS Scholar with a $17,500 Fellowship award given over 3 years, or they may choose to share the cost with another donor. If you are considering this lasting investment in a graduate student, we invite you to contact us at [email protected] to learn more.

“Being a recipient of a shared fellowship has been wonderful. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to meet two sets of amazing people – and to know they are all rooting for me. “

~Malika Hale, ARCS Scholar, UW MD PhD Molecular & Cellular Biology, Pictured above with ARCS donors Sandy and Kent Carlson (photo cred: Kristin Zwiers)

"Together, we have been able to experience Malika’s enthusiasm for science which is uplifting. We have seen her progress, stumbles, and breakthroughs. Sharing with Sandy and Kent has been particularly enjoyable because, in addition to getting to know and support Malika, the opportunity to interact with Sandy and Kent in new and different ways has enriched us as well."

~ Luciana Simoncini & Todd Scheuer, ARCS Donors

"Supporting ARCS scholars has provided us with great experiences and wins for all involved: for the UW in attracting outstanding young scholars; for the fellows’ prestige in being selected and for receiving financial assistance while pursuing their PhDs; and best of all, for us as donors whose lives are bettered for the personal relationships we’ve had with gifted, charming students like Malika Hale."

~ Sandy & Kent Carlson, ARCS Donors

Learn more about ARCS Fellowships

Thank You for Advancing Science!

We are grateful for ARCS Seattle Chapter's generous members and donors, who support future STEM leaders and innovators as they pursue graduate degrees in Washington. This year, ARCS Seattle Chapter is supporting more than 150 STEM graduate scholars at the University of Washington and Washington State University. If you are interested in learning more about funding ARCS fellowships, endowments, or gifts of any kind, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for the many ways you contribute to innovation and scientific advancement in Washington!

Pictured: ARCS Scholar Jeremiah Sims (center) with ARCS Fellowship donors Rhea and Clark Coler. Credit: Kristin Zwiers Photography

ARCS Seattle Chapter's 2023 Calendar

March 13th 9:30-11:00am: Combined Board & Chapter Meeting Zoom (register for zoom here)
March 27th WSU Bread Lab Tour, Mt. Vernon (registration link forthcoming, this will be a daytime bus tour)
April 19th 6pm-8pm: UW Scholar & Donor Appreciation Event at the UW Intellectual House (registration linked here)
September 18th 5pm-8pm Fall Program & Dinner at the Sunset club
October 30th, 11:00am-1:00pm: 45th Anniversary Luncheon at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, Keynote Dr. Jevin West

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