QU Walks for a Cure

Three Quinnipiac University deans will serve as the honorary co-chairs of Walk to Cure Diabetes 2012, which raises money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The walk will get underway on the university’s North Haven Campus at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 23. Pre-race activities begin at 9 a.m.

Bruce Koeppen, founding dean of the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine; Jean Lange, founding dean of the School of Nursing, and Ed O’Connor, dean of the School of Health Sciences, will lead the Quinnipiac delegation that will host the more than 3,000 local residents who are expected to attend the event.

In addition, nursing students will perform blood pressure screenings. The School of Nursing also will offer children who attend an interactive educational opportunity using a VitalSim child mannequin to demonstrate heart and lung functions.

The money raised at the walk continues the work JDRF started in 1970, when the organization was founded by the parents of children with Type 1 diabetes. JDRF’s mission is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Walk to Cure represents the largest fundraiser of the year for the Greater New Haven Chapter of JDRF.

As many as 3 million Americans have Type 1 diabetes, a disease most often diagnosed in childhood that strikes suddenly, lasts a lifetime and carries the constant threat of deadly complications, including heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and amputation.

Sufferers of Type 1 diabetes must check their blood sugar by finger prick upwards of 10 times a day, account for every carbohydrate they eat, and remain constantly alert to potential changes in their blood sugar.

If you want to join, please click here to register and find out more information about how you can contribute to the Walk to Cure 2012. For more information,  call (203) 248-1880.

JDRF is the leading global organization focused on Type 1 diabetes research. Driven by passionate, grassroots volunteers connected to children, adolescents, and adults with this disease, JDRF is now the largest charitable supporter of T1D research. The goal of JDRF research is to improve the lives of every person affected by T1D by accelerating progress on the most promising opportunities for curing, better treating, and preventing T1D. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners who share this goal.

Since its founding in 1970, JDRF has awarded more than $1.6 billion to diabetes research. Past JDRF efforts have helped to significantly advance the care of people with this disease, and have expanded the critical scientific understanding of T1D. JDRF will not rest until T1D is fully conquered. More than 80 percent of JDRF's expenditures directly support research and research-related education. For more information, please visit www.jdrf.org.