The 4th Annual 5K for Penn’s Institute on Aging (IOA) is now in the record books.
Last Sunday, 435 committed Penn Medicine faculty, staff and friends and families of those affected by age-related diseases were up early on a windy, late summer morning to run and walk to raise money and awareness for the work of the IOA.
The annual 5K for the IOA and Memory Mile walk has become a tradition at Penn Medicine. Over the past four years, the event has raised more than $170,000 in support of basic and clinical research into normal aging processes and age-related diseases. This includes disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as osteoporosis and frailty, and more.
The 3.1 mile run started at Franklin Field and took participants through Penn Park with skyline views of Center City from West Philadelphia. The Memory Mile Walk wound walkers down Locust Walk and through the scenic Penn campus. This year, leashed dogs were permitted to tag along for the Memory Mile walk.
“This event is a wonderful way to celebrate the progress we have made in better understanding the mechanisms involved in the development and progression of Alzheimer’s and age-related diseases,” John Trojanowski, MD, PhD, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and director of the Institute on Aging, told the crowd on race day. “The money it raises also helps us on our mission to someday eradicate these often devastating diseases.” Trojanowski works closely with Virginia M.Y. Lee, PhD, MBA, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research (CNDR). The IOA collaborates across Penn Medicine, with the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research (CNDR), the Penn Memory Center, Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the Udall Center for Parkinson’s Disease Research.
IOA fellows represent faculty from 12 schools at Penn and aging experts outside of Penn, focused on age-related areas of interest, including healthy aging, diseases of aging, public policy, law, nursing and economics.
“It is truly a race against time in aging research,” said P.J. Brennan, MD, chief medical officer for Penn Medicine and organizer of the race. “With the population aging, we need the research dollars so that we can increase the treatment options for the growing number of patients with Alzheimer’s and aging-related disorders.”
Below are some photos from this year’s race. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s race!