Researchers on the run
SBI team: Susan Kennedy, Yvonne Smith, Aine Moore, David Kavanagh, Eadaoin Mc Kierna
SBI staff joined in the Run in the Dark Dublin event on Wednesday night in aid of the Mark Pollock Trust. Run in the Dark has turned into a global event since its inception in 2011 with participants running 5/10km in the main locations of Dublin, London, Cork, Manchester, Belfast and pop up locations worldwide which include Boston, Singapore, Dubai, Geneva, New York and Vancouver. Dublin held the largest event hosting half of the 15,000 runners worldwide.
It was a sight to behold as darkness fell over the city and 7,500 thousand people ran with flashing red armbands all for a very worthy cause. Mark Pollock is an inspirational individual and adventurer who continues to achieve remarkable feats. Following blindness in 1998, Mark competed in the North Pole Marathon (2004), Everest Marathon (2007) and in 2009 he was the first blind man to race to the South Pole. In 2010 Mark faced his toughest challenge after falling from a balcony and suffering a spinal cord injury which left him paralysed.
The Mark Pollock Trust was established with the aim of connecting researchers worldwide to fast-track a cure for paralysis not just for Mark but the millions of paralysed people around the world. Well done to all staff members involved and a special word of congratulations to Yvonne on completing her first 5k race!
Susan Kennedy is a postdoctoral researcher at SBI working on the PRIMES project which focuses on protein interactions occurring in the EGFR/ERBB signalling network.
