30 Nov Dr. Bonnie Ramsey’s Retirement
As the wonderful Bonnie Ramsey prepares for retirement, we are finding it impossible to put into words her impact and what she has meant to our organization. Some of our ITHS leaders would like to share a few thoughts her about her many years of partnership and service.
Bonnie Ramsey is the epitome of the triple treat in medicine—an outstanding clinician, teacher and mentor, and world-class researcher. She has changed the clinical trajectory for patients with cystic fibrosis and she has passed on her passion for translational research to scores of students and trainees. While Bonnie is retiring from full-time faculty work, we hope she will be part of the Institute for Translational Health Science for years to come helping us mentor the next generation of scientists dedicated to improving human health.
-Dr. Nora Disis, overall Principal Investigator of the Institute of Translational Sciences, Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Pathology and Obstetrics and Gynecology at UW, and a Member of the Fred Hutch. She is also Director of the UW Medicine Cancer Vaccine Institute.
Bonnie’s impact on care and treatment of children with cystic fibrosis cannot be overstated. Children historically doomed to die at a young age now live to adulthood and beyond with a quality of life that could not have been imagined before the laboratory studies that defined the various disease mechanisms and identified targets for drug treatment. Bonnie’s contribution in bringing together and organizing the academic, pharmaceutical, and patient and family communities was critical to this success.
-Paul Martin, M.D. Professor Emeritus, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutch
We are honoring the legendary contributions of Dr. Bonnie Ramsey with a named lectureship at the annual meeting of the Northwest Participant and Clinical Interactions Network, a collaboration of 17 clinical research centers across the WWAMI region. Dr. Ramsey had the vision, energy, passion, skill, and experience to establish our ITHS regional network that now makes it possible for thousands of patients, irrespective of geography, to participate in research. Her leadership in building an international research network for cystic fibrosis was foundational to expanding access to clinical trials across therapeutic areas and the lifespan. Many people in our region, and around the world, have truly benefited from her lifetime of dedicated service. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dr. Ramsey, an enduring hero in medicine and life.
-Katherine R. Tuttle, MD, Executive Director for Research, Providence Medical Research Center, Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Regional Principal Investigator, Institute of Translational Health Sciences, University of Washington
It’s so inspiring to see Bonnie’s shining impact through decades of perseverance. Her success not only inspires the next generation, but it also brings light to the systemic roadblocks and people that she had to move out of her way. Thanks for everything Bonnie!
-Teddy Johnson, Director of Technology Development for the Institute of Translational Health Sciences and WE-REACH
Bonnie’s vision for the Cystic Fibrosis Therapeutics Development Network and her intrinsic understanding of the need to meet people and organizations where they are shaped the Northwest Participant and Clinical Interactions (NW PCI) Network. She generously shared her time and insights about the impacts research networks can have on patient outcomes, enabling our team at the ITHS and health systems, universities, and clinics across the WWAMI region to bring local high quality clinical research to patients. Bonnie has been my mentor since we met 12 years ago, and I will greatly miss her humor, guidance, and collaboration. Congratulations, Bonnie, on your retirement!
-Laurie Hassell, Director of Community Engagement for the Institute of Translational Health Sciences
Bonnie has been a guiding light for the ITHS’ regional programs. She really made the development of the ITHS’ NW PCI Network possible. Bonnie brought a collaborative spirit, belief in the strength of regional health systems and their research programs, and deep experience with the highly engaged CF Research Network as the PCI Network was forming. Bonnie built strong, trusted bidirectional relationships with health systems across the WWAMI region because they knew that she both supported them and was committed to learning from them. ITHS is lucky to be able to stand on the shoulders of a great like Bonnie as it continues its strong service to our region.
-Laura-Mae Baldwin, MD, MPH, Faculty Director of the ITHS’ Regional Research Collaborations Program, WPRN Founder, Professor, UW Department of Family Medicine
If you have a message you’d like to share with Bonnie as she embarks upon retirement, please send it to Lisa Stromme Warren by December 7, 2022.
