Former President and Director Emeritus of the Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Robert Day, MD, PhD, died Jan. 7 at 87 years old.
His daughter said Dr. Day had been battling liver cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the time of his death, The Seattle Times reports.
Here are four things to know about Dr. Day.
1. Dr. Day was appointed head of the cancer center in 1981, succeeding founding director William Hutchinson, MD. Dr. Day retired from the post in 1997.
2. Upon retiring from the cancer center, Dr. Day continued to find ways to help those in need. He and his second wife founded the Science and Management of Addictions Foundation, which aims to fight substance addiction among youth populations.
3. In 2001, following Dr. Day's retirement, The Seattle Times published a series of reports highlighting the deaths of several clinical trial participants during the 1980s and 1990s, which allegedly occurred while he was head of the cancer center. The reports investigated whether physicians and researchers at the institution maintained financial ties to biotechnology firms with a stake in the success of the trials, the report states.
While officials denied any wrongdoing, the issue resulted in three lawsuits filed against the Hutchinson cancer center, one of which the institution settled for $1 million.
4. Dr. Day received his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, and earned a doctorate and a master's of public health degree from UC Berkeley.