February 23, 2012
Contact:
Jason Merrill
314-286-0302
jmerrill@bjc.org
WHAT:
Pedal the Cause, the annual bike challenge raising money for cancer research at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine as well as St. Louis Children’s Hospital, will announce research 12 projects made possible by the 2011 event. In 2011, more than 1,300 participants raised $1.3 million. All event costs are covered thanks to corporate support from sponsors such as Edward Jones, Clayco and Michelob Ultra, meaning every dollar raised by Pedal the Cause stays in St. Louis to fund cancer research.
WHEN:
Today, Thursday, February 23, 2012
6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
WHERE:
Moulin Vin de Set
2017 Choteau Avenue
WHO:
Over 80 “Yellow Jersey” participants who raised over $2,500 for cancer research through Pedal the Cause will be in attendance as well as researchers from the Siteman Cancer Center and St. Louis Children’s Hospital who will receive grants from:
Jay Indovino, Executive Director, Pedal The Cause
Bill Koman, Founder, Pedal The Cause and President of The Koman Group
MORE:
ST. LOUIS - Pedal the Cause, the annual bike challenge raising money for cancer research at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine as well as St. Louis Children’s Hospital, will announce 12 research projects made possible by the 2011 event.
In 2011, more than 1,300 participants raised $1.3 million. All event costs are covered thanks to corporate support from sponsors such as Edward Jones, Clayco and Michelob Ultra, meaning every dollar raised by Pedal the Cause stays right here in St. Louis to fund cancer research.
“I would like to thank our sponsors, underwriters, riders, volunteers and donors for helping us in our goal to end cancer,” says Bill Koman, cancer survivor and Pedal the Cause founder. “It’s truly amazing what a community of businesses and individuals can accomplish when working together for one common goal.”
The list of projects include research for pancreatic, kidney, breast, skin and cervical cancers through the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s Cancer Frontier Fund as well as four grants researching pediatric cancers through the Children’s Discovery Institute at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
“Every dollar provides hope to the thousands of cancer patients we care for each year and allows us to continue pursuing discoveries that make us national leaders in cancer medicine,” says Timothy Eberlein, MD, Siteman Cancer Center director.
Many of the research projects are examining cancer at the cellular level. Thanks to ground breaking discoveries in St. Louis at the Genome Center at Washington University, researchers are developing ways to target a patient’s cancer based on each person’s genetic makeup. As that research has traveled from bench to bedside at the Siteman Cancer Center, the only National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center within a 240 mile radius of St. Louis, it offers many patients alternatives they did not have before.
For a full list of funded research projects, visit
www.pedalthecause.org.