Members of the public, faculty and staff of Notre Dame, the alumni community, and more are invited to participate in the 2019 Virtual Race benefitting the Harper Cancer Research Institute (HCRI) at the University of Notre Dame. The Virtual Race is a fundraising campaign that encourages physical activity and raises funds for the HCRI to develop new technologies and methodologies that detect cancer earlier and improve traditional means of cancer treatment.
“This annual event helps to not only raise awareness for cancer research at Notre Dame, but also reminds people the important role physical activity can play in individual health and well-being,” said M. Sharon Stack, Ann F. Dunne and Elizabeth Riley Director of HCRI and Kleiderer-Pezold Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry. “I am grateful for each person who contributes to our fight for a cure and look forward to the various advancements in cutting-edge research this campaign can help our institute achieve.”
This Virtual Race will kick-off with the fourth annual Joseph D. Boyle Memorial Ergathon on Saturday, January 26 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Joyce Center in gym four. Put on by the Notre Dame Men’s Rowing Team, the ergathon raises funds specifically for pancreatic cancer research at the HCRI. Last year, the event raised over $42,000 donated to the HCRI and supported a research project by Hsueh-Chia Chang, Bayer Professor of Engineering. Chang and his lab are working to develop molecular sensing technologies for pancreatic and other cancer screenings and therapies.
The Virtual Race will then run from January 26th to Sunday, February 3, 2019. To be a fundraiser in the HCRI Virtual Race, participants can register as an individual, join an existing team, or create their own team. Teams allow participants to recruit others to help raise money as well. Participants can increase their impact by being active and logging their activity. For every mile or 10 minutes of logged activity from participants, there will be a dollar match contributed to the fund.
Additionally, participants can also make a quick gift online and donations are currently being accepted for the campaign. Every $10,000 raised is the equivalent of funding two student researchers for a summer at the institute and all donations go to supporting the HCRI. Participants are encouraged to share a post or video on their social media about why they have joined the Virtual Race with the hashtag #GoIrishBeatCancer.
To learn more or to participate in the campaign, please visit https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/JOINTHEFIGHT.
The Harper Cancer Research Institute is dedicated to supporting innovative and integrative research that confronts the complex challenges of cancer. Researchers at the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend are united in multi-disciplinary teams with a common goal: to increase the survival of all patients diagnosed with cancer. To learn more about the institute, please visit harpercancer.nd.edu.
Contact:
S. Andrew Bullock / Associate Director
Harper Cancer Research Institute / University of Notre Dame
sabullock@nd.edu / 574.631.2136
About Notre Dame Research:
The University of Notre Dame is a private research and teaching university inspired by its Catholic mission. Located in South Bend, Indiana, its researchers are advancing human understanding through research, scholarship, education, and creative endeavor in order to be a repository for knowledge and a powerful means for doing good in the world. For more information, please see research.nd.edu or @UNDResearch.
Originally published by at harpercancer.nd.edu on January 24, 2019.