Patient, Parent, and Researcher Rallies for Medical Research

For four straight years, the American Association for Cancer Research has been the founding organizer and lead supporter for Rally for Medical Research Hill Day. On this day, more than 300 organizations gather in Washington, D.C., to advocate for robust, sustained, and predictable growth in medical research funding.

Photo: Amir West of Photo Fanatic Photography.

Those who speak before the nation’s lawmakers bring diverse experiences to the table. Some are researchers; some are patients; some are speaking on behalf of loved ones who lost their battles with illness.

Erik Jakobsson, PhD, is all those things.

Jakobsson, a scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, wrote about his experience on the Biophysical Society Blog, explaining to readers how his diverse experiences as a researcher, a parent, and a patient fuel his desire to secure robust funding for medical research. He also recounted his time with Ginger Tam, one of several cancer patients featured in the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2016.

The full article appears here.