Comprehensive Center for the Advancement of Scientific Strategies (COMPASS)

As a research infrastructure within the Biostatistics Program in the Public Health Sciences Division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, COMPASS has been directing multi-center studies in public health research for over 30 years.

The COMPASS organization grew out of our experience establishing and coordinating the Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET), a multi-center lung cancer prevention trial that began in 1983. Since that time, we have expanded and now manage several large-scale research networks and studies and have been involved in numerous smaller collaborations.

Our Mission: COMPASS promotes scientific excellence in research aimed at eliminating cancer and other diseases of public health importance by providing state-of-the-art study coordination, communication and statistical analysis services to scientific investigators.

COMPASS fulfills its mission by:

  • pursuing scientific excellence and innovation in the conduct of research studies
  • attracting and retaining the highest quality faculty, management, and staff
  • maintaining a dynamic organizational structure capable of sustaining multiple studies
  • promoting mutual respect, teamwork, and open sharing of ideas
  • providing full-spectrum operational support for research
  • fostering innovative science and accelerated outcomes by bringing together diverse teams across multiple disciplines