Washington state is a global leader in the advancement of medicine and science. The  University of Washington is the largest public university recipient of federal research dollars. The life sciences sector in Washington includes strength in medical devices, cancer research, therapeutics and infectious diseases.

Washington is also home to some of the world leader non-profit organizations and research institutes including the  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ,  PATH ,  Seattle BioMed , and the  Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center .