Pamela S. Becker, MD, PhD
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As a child, Dr. Pamela Becker used to spend hours with her father, who was a pathologist, while he worked in his hematology laboratory and blood bank. By the age of nine, she knew she wanted to be a doctor.
At 16, Becker attended a biochemistry summer program put on by the National Science Foundation. The year she graduated from high school, she volunteered at a local hospital and worked in the chemistry lab. And in college, she volunteered with the American Red Cross during a blizzard.
For her undergraduate degree at Harvard in biochemistry, Becker did research in immunology. She then completed her medical degree at Harvard and MIT, and earned a doctorate in philosophy at Harvard Graduate School while working at Children’s Hospital Boston.
Moving west
After 27 years in New England, Becker came to Seattle to join Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Division of Hematology where she conducts research on gene therapy and hematologic malignancies. She also sees patients at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and chairs a course in hematology for second-year students at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
A violinist in her spare time, Becker enjoyed playing in many orchestral organizations, including the Brookline Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts. “I had to stop playing when I started working on-call though,” she says. “But I cart my daughter (she has two) around for her violin lessons and orchestra rehearsals. She uses my bow and wants to become a doctor, too.”
Both of Becker’s daughters have inherited their mother’s scientific mind and would like to pursue careers in biology and research. In fact, Becker’s family is full of physicians, including her husband, father, brother, and several cousins.
Devoting 50 percent of her time to patient care, Becker spends the other half involved in research, which began with stem cells, red blood cells, and gene therapy. She’s currently involved in trials for leukemia and myeloma. She is most interested in Gaucher’s disease, a genetic, lipid storage disease for which the current treatment is enzyme replacement therapy.
To maintain balance in her life, Becker volunteers for her daughter’s school orchestra program, regularly attends many of Seattle’s cultural offerings, swims laps, and enjoys hiking in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada.
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Dr. Pamela Becker: A born researcher
As a child, Dr. Pamela Becker used to spend hours with her father, who was a pathologist, while he worked in his hematology laboratory and blood bank. By the age of nine, she knew she wanted to be a doctor.
At 16, Becker attended a biochemistry summer program put on by the National Science Foundation. The year she graduated from high school, she volunteered at a local hospital and worked in the chemistry lab. And in college, she volunteered with the American Red Cross during a blizzard.
For her undergraduate degree at Harvard in biochemistry, Becker did research in immunology. She then completed her medical degree at Harvard and MIT, and earned a doctorate in philosophy at Harvard Graduate School while working at Children’s Hospital Boston.
Moving west
After 27 years in New England, Becker came to Seattle to join Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Division of Hematology where she conducts research on gene therapy and hematologic malignancies. She also sees patients at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and chairs a course in hematology for second-year students at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
A violinist in her spare time, Becker enjoyed playing in many orchestral organizations, including the Brookline Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts. “I had to stop playing when I started working on-call though,” she says. “But I cart my daughter (she has two) around for her violin lessons and orchestra rehearsals. She uses my bow and wants to become a doctor, too.”
Both of Becker’s daughters have inherited their mother’s scientific mind and would like to pursue careers in biology and research. In fact, Becker’s family is full of physicians, including her husband, father, brother, and several cousins.
Devoting 50 percent of her time to patient care, Becker spends the other half involved in research, which began with stem cells, red blood cells, and gene therapy. She’s currently involved in trials for leukemia and myeloma. She is most interested in Gaucher’s disease, a genetic, lipid storage disease for which the current treatment is enzyme replacement therapy.
To maintain balance in her life, Becker volunteers for her daughter’s school orchestra program, regularly attends many of Seattle’s cultural offerings, swims laps, and enjoys hiking in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada.
Pamela S. Becker
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