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Cancer Researcher Runs Alaska Half Marathon to Raise Funds for Lifesaving Treatments

By Linda Heaney | June 21, 2016

Not only has Irene Ghobrial, M.D. dedicated her professional life to finding lifesaving treatments for cancer, but over the past few months she has dedicated her leisure time to training for a half marathon in Alaska, to raise funds for cancer research. Ghobrial has trained with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training (TNT), the non-profit’s endurance training program.

Ghobrial, a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) physician-scientist, has been closely affiliated with LLS for many years, having received numerous LLS grants for blood cancer research. Ghobrial’s research includes identifying what causes myeloma cells to become drug resistant and understanding how to treat premalignant cancer conditions before they become more serious blood cancers. Ghobrial also co-leads an LLS and DFCI collaboration, through LLS’s Therapy Acceleration Program, to bring clinical trials to local community cancer centers. She currently leads an LLS Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) grant, and also has a Translational Research Program grant. Learn more about Dr. Ghobrial’s research here.