Distinguished Alumni Award winner changes lives for cystic fibrosis and cancer patients

As a longtime researcher and clinical oncologist, Skach not only helped patients recover from cancer, but also enabled many scientists to make groundbreaking discoveries in the lab and at the CF Foundation. Now a member of the College of Science Board of Advisors at Oregon State University, he is focused on helping the next generation of scientists and reflecting on how to better communicate science to the public.

"Science is moving so fast," Skach said. "One thing we could do better is communicate science more effectively to the public. It’s easy to pull out an iPhone and not think twice about how the science actually makes it work. There is a disconnect between people that are suspicious of or challenging science and how they use it every single day."

From college grad to funding hundreds of laboratories around the world

Just like the proteins he studied, Skach’s career path was full of twists and turns. After graduating from Oregon State with a double degree in biochemistry and biophysics and crop science, Skach decided, at the last minute, to attend medical school. He wanted to use science to help people.

He was accepted to Harvard Medical School and launched a career as a physician scientist. For more than 25 years, he helped cancer patients and mentored students and staff in various scientific discoveries and experiments.

After landing his first academic position at University of Pennsylvania, he returned to Portland in 1998. While serving as a clinical oncologist at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Hospitals and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at OHSU, he secured funds to run his lab and teach students how to advance membrane protein folding research.

He has attended more than a hundred national and international conferences, including Gordon Research, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FACEB), the American Heart Association, the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), and the CF Foundation. There, he presented new research data, remained updated on the latest developments, and developed connections with industry leaders.

Over time, Skach connected with leadership at the CF Foundation. For nearly a decade, he worked with a team of about ten scientists to study multiple mutations causing cystic fibrosis.

One evening, while shining slides up on a wall in a colleague’s darkened living room and discussing data together, they realized that it might be possible to efficiently correct the most common mutation that causes cystic fibrosis — one that affects more than two thirds of patients. The CF Foundation wanted to help make this possibility into a reality, and over a span of 25 years — they did.

“I think the definition of success is having options. Oregon State can open doors. It can take things that are out of reach and put them into people's reach.”

This set the stage to develop medications that treated multiple types of mutations. “About that time when these medications were starting to hit the market, one of the leaders at the foundation approached me and said, ‘Bill, do you want to come work for us?’ It sounded like a really exciting thing to do,” Skach said. “I’d never done anything like it.”

In 2014, he moved to Bethesda, Maryland to lead the research discovery and preclinical drug development programs at the CF Foundation. Under his direction, the organization funded hundreds of laboratories and companies worldwide and revived its research conferences, fostering a new generation of scientists to develop genetic-based therapies for treating cystic fibrosis.

In a span of eight years, the foundation helped push five new miracle medications to market that have transformed cystic fibrosis care and longevity.

Lifelong curiosity sparked by opportunity

Skach’s passion for science began in fifth grade, when his teacher suggested that his parents buy him a chemistry set for Christmas. From the moment the wrapping paper came off, he absolutely loved it. The chemical reactions in the set introduced new questions he sought to answer later in life, inspiring him to pursue science at Oregon State.

There, he met Emeritus University Distinguished Professor Christopher Matthews. At the time, Matthews had just arrived at Oregon State as a new professor in one of his biochemistry classes. He left a lasting impression, one that inspired Skach to pursue a career in biomedical research.

“His lectures and my interactions with him were critical in developing an interest in medicine and pursuing a career in biomedical research,” Skach said. Matthews had a knack for bringing biochemistry to life and engaging students in how to understand the theory behind solving medical problems.

While in college, he didn’t have a grand plan on how to be successful. He did not grow up in an academic world and was the first in his family to graduate from college. By being curious, bold, and persistent, open opportunities painted the way.

At Oregon State, one of the most memorable experiences was in the Callahan Hall lobby, where he and his friends sat around the table discussing the definition of success. Money, fame and prestige were on the table. Skach wasn’t convinced.

“I think the definition of success is having options. Oregon State can open doors. It can take things that are out of reach and put them into people's reach,” Skach said. “It has the power to change lives for the better.”

As a retired scientist, he continues to pave the way for future scientists to make their mark. He provides advice and consultation to other foundations and companies that are trying to develop new treatments for other genetic disorders, just like the CF Foundation did. Recently, he also advocated for funding the Oregon State Physics Learning Center by writing a letter of support to the legislature.

In his free time, he takes care of his douglas fir tree farm and cares for his garden — a hobby that, like science, keeps him looking towards the future.