Rick Valencia and his family have been a part of Padres Pedal the Cause, which raises money for cancer research, for a long time. But this year’s fundraising event hit especially close to home. His wife, Stacey, was diagnosed with a rare form of gynecological cancer just a few months ago.
Their team of 40 was among more than 2,000 participants at Padres Pedal the Cause at Petco Park on Saturday to run, walk and ride bikes for the annual fundraiser. Curebound, a local nonprofit, hosts the event to raise money for collaborative cancer research in San Diego County. Anne Marbarger, chief executive officer of Curebound, said that this fundraiser is unique because the money goes to local institutions and ultimately impacts cancer research beyond San Diego.
Reuben Shaw, director of the Salk Institute’s cancer center, said that funding from the federal government for novel research is hard to come by, but Pedal the Cause helps tackle that challenge. He added that the way these Curebound grants are given catalyzes innovation and relies on the collaborative nature of San Diego’s life science community.
Funding from Pedal the Cause connected Savvy with precision medicine developed in part by Salk researchers.