On the weekend of June 7th and 8th Bioinformatics Solutions Inc, makers of PEAKS software, was happy to sponsor one of its team members Dan Maloney in the Ontario Ride to Conquer Cancer. It was a grueling two day 235 km ride from downtown Toronto to the top of Niagara Falls. Through personal donations from friends, family, and co-workers, and a $1500 sponsorship from BSI, Dan was able to raise over $2500 to support the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. Over 5000 riders participated in the event. Together they were able to raise over $20 million to fund cutting edge cancer research. This amazing achievement is a new fundraising record for the ride and we are happy to have played a part.
The Princess Margaret Hospital's research program is ranked fourth in the world. That is in terms of the percentage of publications cited in high impact oncology journals. It is the research center where important discoveries such as Dr. James Till and Dr. Ernest McCulloch’s discovery of stem cells in 1961 were made. Currently, they are pushing forward to improve the effectiveness of personalized medicine in the fight against cancer. Also, one of their researchers, Dr. Tak Mak, has recently received Health Canada and FDA approval to go ahead to phase 1 clinical trials for a new cancer drug that will target PLK4, an important enzyme in cancer cell division. We are happy to support research such as this happening at Princess Margaret to help end a disease that 2 out of 5 Canadians will be diagnosed with in their lifetime.
When asked about the ride Dan Maloney said, "it was a very rewarding experience, but I was overjoyed to cross the finish line. Thank you very much to everyone who was able to make a donation. Very special thanks to BSI for sponsoring me. Without generous donations like the one you made, large fundraising events such as this would not be possible. Events such as the Ride to Conquer Cancer are crucial if we ever want to see the end of devastating diseases such as cancer which sadly will affect us or someone we love at some point in our lives."
