Padres Pedal the Cause presented a check for $2,401,523.00 on Wednesday, January 24 to leaders from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Rady Children’s Hospital–San Diego. The funds represent the total amount raised by Padres Pedal teams and participants in the November 2017 cycling event. It’s the largest annual contribution in the five-year history of the organization.

100% of the proceeds raised by Padres Pedal the Cause stay in San Diego to fund collaborative research to find ways to both prevent and treat every type of cancer—with the hope of ultimately finding cures.

SBP has been an active participant in the annual two-day cycling fundraiser since it began in 2013. We recruit cyclists, provide water and entertainment during the ride, and have been the grateful recipient of funding for research on melanoma,pancreatic, breast and colon cancer.

From all of us at SBP, thank you to all the riders, survivors, sponsors, volunteers, doctors, researchers, families and friends who helped raise money for critical cancer research.

On November 11 and 12, Padres Pedal the Cause had a record number of riders, on track to increase funds in the fight against cancer.

                                    

“The event was a tremendous success. It’s particularly important for SBP as the grants that come from Pedal the Cause allow us to collaborate with clinical researchers on truly translational projects, often involving patients,” said Garth Powis, D.Phil., director of the NCI-designated Cancer Center at SBP.  

 

About 20 SBP volunteers provided a water station, food break and a hopping photo booth for a welcome break for riders as they pedaled past SBP on North Torrey Pines Road. In the fifth annual cycling event, the riders also coasted over the breathtaking Coronado Bay Bridge for the first time.

 

“We also had a team of riders, including six researchers. SBP is proud to have raised more than $130,000 over the past four years,” said Dr. Powis.

 

The event raises money to find a cure for cancer by funding four major world-class research institutions in San Diego, including SBP, as well as Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. Padres Pedal funds projects representing the latest in innovative, collaborative cancer research. To date, Padres Pedal has raised over $4.75 million and funded 19 collaborative research projects at four beneficiaries, including SBP. 

 

“We’ve already surpassed last year’s 1,500 registered participants,” said Anne Marchand, executive director of Padres Pedal.

 

Last February, Marchand presented a check for more than $2 million to researchers. Funded collaborative research projects with SBP investigators focused on a wide array of cancers, including B-cell lymphomas, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer and T-cell immunotherapies.

 

Cancer is a disease that affects us all, accounting for one in four U.S. deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.

 

Check out the YouTube video from the 2017 Padres Pedal the Cause event.