Pamela Becker, MD, PhD

• Acute Myeloid Leukemia

As a hematologist, Dr. Becker has a few simple principles that guide her work with patients. One is to treat each patient as she would want members of her family to be treated. She also subscribes to the “Sully Principle”: Just as the pilot remembered as the Hero of the Hudson wasn’t satisfied until he knew that all of his passengers made it to shore, she strives to make a difference for every single patient.

In her research, Dr. Becker focuses on a specific mechanism by which acute myeloid leukemia resists chemotherapy; gene therapy for Fanconi anemia, a rare inherited condition affecting the bone marrow; and precision medicine approaches for treating blood cancers. She has been recognized with the Visionary Research Champion Award from the Washington/Alaska chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Leadership in Science Award from the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation.