Soooo IN.
Tonight I went to the IN Network (Innovators Network) by default as Brie’s boyfriend couldn’t come so she had an extra slot for her guest, which I happily accepted. Networking, free food/drinks, amazing scientists? Yes, please!
Three different Fred Hutch scientists spoke about their work over the course of the evening, and there was one in particular that was especially moving. Jim Olson gave a talk about ‘tumor painting’ - a method he discovered that essentially paints or highlights cancer cells using a scorpion’s venom which binds to the cancerous cells. Dr. Olson has been able to ‘light up’ cancer cells to make it easier for doctors to see and therefore remove cancerous tumors during surgery. This technology will enable scientists to effectively remove cancer without any chance of removing non-cancer cells, which currently often happens. The technology also enables doctors to see cancer cells 500 times better than a MRI.
This science is fascinating, so much so that Brie and I decided we had to go meet this guy… and become groupies. So, we took a picture with him. It had to make him feel good, right? We loved him!
