About This Item
Who knew in 2004, when I first thought we could light up cancers with a molecule based on a scorpion toxin, that we would be helping people with it today?Inch says Dr. Jim Olson, laughing at the memory. InchImagine the grant reviewers getting that. Inch But the Seattle pediatric oncologist's incredulousness is not meant to suggest the impossibility of his statement-just the opposite. In fact, he and his team of research scientists are well on the path to making that fantastic hypothesis a life-sustaining reality. Dr. Olson, a Member at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center and Attending Physician at Seattle Children's Hospital, is no stranger to outside-the-box methods and practices. The visionary, resourceful brilliance of his InchTumor PaintInch procedure (currently undergoing clinical trials in human cancer patients) and other cancer-fighting drug blueprints from nature is matched by equally unorthodox funding programs somewhat uncommon to modern laboratories crowdsourcing, or more aptly, citizen science. His Project Violet campaign (ProjectViolet. Org), named for an 11-year-old patient of Olson's whose grace and compassion throughout her losing battle with cancer inspired him, offers backers the opportunity to sponsor and name specific experimental drugs and track their progress. And now, with the of The Violet Sessions in October, Olson is utilizing the therapeutic and communal qualities of yet another powerful medium to help raise awareness and research funding music. In 2006, Olson and his wife began hosting private concerts at their lakeside Seattle home as a retreat to escape from the extreme emotional challenges of his work. Inviting friends and colleagues as well as past and present patients and their families, the shows delivered on that expectation and more, creating strong, even transformative gatherings of community. Together with Olson, several
