Cancer research is serious business, and sometimes frustrating, so why not celebrate its victories with a good old high-five? Sanford-Burnham is honored to be among just four organizations chosen to benefit from the 2012 National High-Five-a-Thon for Cancer Research. On April 19, participants will give high-fives, symbolic of solidarity and a job well done, to anyone and everyone. Each slapping of hands will carry a monetary value, directed toward cancer research. This quirky event is organized by the National High Five Project, founded in 2010 to channel the fun spirit of National High Five Day into raising money for real and tangible good.

Anyone can participate, simply by creating a National High-Five-a-Thon profile page. Set up your page, then invite friends and family to support you as you high-five your way through the day. Agree to give 55 (or more) high-fives. You will be able to promote your page through Facebook, and to earn prizes if you reach certain goals. Raise $100 and National High Five Project will send you the official 2012 National High-5-A-Thon T-shirt. You may even choose to organize a team or join one.

Dr. Jacob Feala, formerly a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Giovanni Paternostro’s lab at Sanford-Burnham, sits on the board of the National High Five Project. He invited the Institute to apply as a beneficiary for the fundraiser, knowing the money raised would be used well.

“Working there as a postdoc, I witnessed cutting-edge, clinically focused cancer research all around me. Cancer is an incredibly complex disease, and to cure it we have to understand it at several levels, from mutated DNA, to the rewiring of circuits within the cell, to the cancer’s interactions with surrounding tissue. For that, we need interdisciplinary, collaborative institutes like Sanford-Burnham,” Dr. Feala says.

Every year, people of all ages celebrate National High Five Day by high-fiving friends and strangers alike. Celebrations have occurred in elementary school classrooms, on college campuses, in offices, and in retirement communities. The event has spread virally and been featured by NPR, The Today Show, ESPN’s P.T.I. and Baseball Tonight, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Sports Illustrated.

Learn more about Sanford-Burnham’s National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center on our website. See why the cancer research taking place at Sanford-Burnham is worth a whole lot of high-fives.