Queen Mary University of London staff, students and alumni are helping fund the fight against cancer with a series of charity sports challenges this summer, including the British 10k Run, the London Triathlon and the Thames Path Challenge.
Every penny raised through sponsorship will go towards research being undertaken at Queen Mary University of London’s Barts Cancer Institute (BCI).
Researchers at BCI aim to prevent cancer and develop better diagnostic techniques and treatments that will ultimately increase patient survival, and enhance the quality of life for those with long-term disease.
BCI cancer researchers Dr Paulo Ribeiro, Dr Laura Gay and Dr Kunal Shah, IT Desktop Support Officer Neil Jahans and other QMUL staff and external supporters, are part of the BCI team taking to the streets on Sunday 13 July for the British 10k Run, running along the iconic London route.
PhD student Doon MacDonald from the School of Electronic Engineering and Materials Science, alumni Roberto Ray (Computer Science, 2010), Kevin Leis (Hispanic Studies, 2010) and Dr Ilya Kantsedikas (Medicine, 2013) will be taking part in the London Triathlon – the world’s largest – between 2 – 3 August.
A team of BCI academics will also take part in the Thames Path Challenge in September, where participants can chose to walk or run a 25km, 50km or 100km route. BCI Lecturer Dr Sarah Martin will be leading a team, which includes Medical Oncology Consultant Dr Michelle Lockley, Dr Katiuscia Bianchi, Dr Susana Godinho in the Challenge, walking from Cookham to Henley to raise funds for cancer research.
Professor Nick Lemoine, Director of BCI, explains: “Not only are we hoping to raise funds, but also public awareness of the ground-breaking research being carried out at BCI and across QMUL.
“Every donation, however small, helps us buy vital equipment. Just £5 funds a DNA sequencing test so we can find out whether a tumour sample has a known gene mutation. £1,000 could pay for the sequencing of an entire genome of a cancer, so we can better understand it and develop ways to kill it completely.”
For more information, or to take part or sponsor BCI’s Charity Challenge, visit http://www.bci.qmul.ac.uk/charity-challenges.
Follow the team’s progress via https://twitter.com/QMBCI #charitychallenge.
(Dr Laura Gay - taking part in the British 10k Run)
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