Running to fight breast cancer
Tens of thousands of people from coast to coast will participate in the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s annual CIBC Run for the Cure on Oct.4.
And many of those runners will be on the St. George campus and at the University of Toronto Mississauga.
Since the first edition in 1992, the run has become an inspiring tradition for people touched by the disease – and an important fundraising event.
Some of the money raised will support U of T scholars who have been identified as “local heroes” by the foundation. One is Professor Patrick Gunning of the University of Toronto Mississauga. His work focuses on designing and synthesizing molecules that can kill tumours.
“Seeing breast cancer cells die as a result of treatment with our molecules was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” he says. “It was at that moment I decided to pursue a career in academia, targeting the proteins that drive the most aggressive of breast cancers.”