Assistant Professor, Basic Sciences Division
Dale F. Frey Scientist, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
Faculty Profile

Chris grew up in a mill town in rural New Hampshire north of the Presidential Range. His experience as a first-generation student at Colby College in Waterville, Maine enabled him to discover his passion for research. He connected with the puzzle-like and problem-solving aspects of unraveling how nanomachines work. This led him to pursue graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the lab of Marvin Wickens. His time in Madison forged his interest in all things related to RNA and his love of cycling, bratwurst, and cheese curds. After his graduate studies, Chris trained as a postdoctoral fellow with Jody Puglisi at Stanford University. There, he began tackling how one of the most dynamic and massive nanomachines – the ribosome and its helper proteins – assembles on human messenger RNAs, which encode the instructions to make proteins. He also developed a strong desire to reveal how tiny virus proteins jam the ribosome to disrupt proper assembly. Following a brief pitstop in Portland, Oregon, he is thrilled to be at the Hutch and call Seattle home as he continues to study the ribosome, its helper proteins, and how the machinery is jammed and hijacked by viruses. Outside the lab, you can find him walking his dog, Sadie, cycling around the lakes, hiking in the amazing nearby mountains, cooking, writing, or drinking a cappuccino.

Rachel completed her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Michigan. At Michigan, Rachel conducted research in Dr. Janet Smith’s lab, focused on biochemical and structural characterization of enzymes involved in polyketide natural product pathways. After undergrad, Rachel completed her PhD in the Integrated Program in Biochemistry, where she worked in Dr. Jim Keck’s lab. In the Keck lab, Rachel’s thesis focused on understanding a noncanonical nucleic acid structure called the G-quadruplex. Rachel investigated proteins capable of binding and unwinding G-quadruplexes as well as carried out a chemical-genetic screen in E. coli to identify genes that are important for overcoming stabilized G-quadruplexes. She found that in E. coli, modulating translation allows cells to overcome stabilized G-quadruplexes, which helped to cultivate Rachel’s interest in translation. Rachel is excited to research translation in the Lapointe lab, focusing on RNA dynamics and the roles of RNA helicases in modulating translation. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys running, playing volleyball, and playing board games.

Lianne graduated with an MBA in 2022 from Washington State University.  During her thesis project, she studied the effects of microfinance in relation to emerging economies, poverty reduction, and projected economic growth in developing countries.  Following the conclusion of her program, Lianne was hired at Fred Hutch Cancer Center as a research administrator to oversee operations and financial planning for labs in the Basic Sciences Division.  When she is not at Fred Hutch, Lianne can be found in the dance studio perfecting her Irish dance skills for championship competitions all over the world!