Kingston - Queen’s cancer researchers are participating in Canada's largest annual motorcycle event dedicated to fighting prostate cancer—the Motorcycle Ride for Dad. Last year’s Ride for Dad in Kingston alone raised over $100,000 and funded five prostate cancer research projects at Queen’s.

“This kind of funding is very important because it allows us to take on more risky exploratory projects that don’t fit into the standard way of securing funding,” says Dr. Jeremy Squire, Professor and Research Chair in Molecular Pathology, Queen’s University. “Targeted amounts of money like this help researchers answer very specific questions.”

Dr. Squire met the local chapter of this national group for the first time at the cheque presentation earlier this year, and was so impressed with the organization that he’s riding in the upcoming event. So are other members of his research team.

“Lab equipment is expensive and, simply put, we need funding to continue our research,” says Jennifer Good, Research Laboratory Technologist at Queen’s University. “But when the bikers toured the lab they were genuinely interested in our work and really excited to see where the money goes. It’s inspiring to see the human side of our research, and we’re looking forward to participating in the ride.”

“Their enthusiasm was contagious,” adds Dr. Squire. “When you’re working in the lab and you hit a problem in your research, you think of this group and all the energy and support they give you, it’s a real motivating factor to continue on.”

The first Motorcycle Ride for Dad took place in Ottawa in 2000 with 75 riders. This year, hundreds of riders will participate in 25 cities across Canada. All of the funds raised support prostate cancer research projects. The ride in Kingston takes place Sunday, May 31. For more information visit www.motorcycleridefordad.org.