7 May 2010
Brian Cox gives backing to Monikie Race
Photo call: 11am on Sunday, May 9th at Monikie Country Park. Hundreds of runners will be raising money for diabetes research.
Dundee University Rector Brian Cox has lent his support to the institution’s Monikie 10k Race for Diabetes Research, which is taking place this Sunday.
The Hollywood star is himself a diabetic and, on a four-day visit to his home town, praised the hundreds of runners who will be raising funds for the University’s Diabetes Research Campaign.
Brian, who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 1998 and whose late brother also suffered from the disease, said that more needed to be done to not only raise money for research into treatments, but also to raise awareness of how lifestyle factors have made diabetes the fastest growing epidemic in the developed world.
He said he was delighted to be able to support the Monikie event and praised the work being carried out at the University.
'I am truly sorry that I won’t be able to stay and attend the race, but I fully support the aims of the event and will be trying to ensure that there will be a Brian Cox team taking part next year,' he said.
'Obviously, this terrible disease is one that affects me personally and so I’m only too aware of the need to raise awareness of the dangers of sugar, poor diet and other lifestyle choices, and what this means for the health of adults and children.
'I owe my life to the world-class research work being carried out into diabetes here at Dundee and want to thank every single sponsor and donor for continuing to support this campaign. However, there is an urgent need to raise awareness of the reasons why so many people develop Type 2 diabetes and not just to focus on creating drugs to treat people once they have already become diabetic.
'That’s why the Monikie race is such a positive event. Not only is it helping to raise money for research, but it also very clearly gets across the message that a healthy lifestyle is the most powerful weapon we posses in the battle to help prevent the spread of the diabetes pandemic.
'Using the facilities, expertise and desire to change the status quo that exists at Dundee, we can all make a real difference. I would urge everyone to get behind this campaign and to think carefully about what they, and their families, are consuming and the long term risk this poses to their health.'
It is estimated that more than 300 million people worldwide will suffer from the disease by 2020 and the disease has been recognised by the United Nations as the greatest threat to world health.
It is estimated that the NHS is spending £1million an hour, 10% of its yearly budget, treating diabetes and its complications.
In Tayside there has been a 90% increase in the incidence of diabetes in the last 10 years and the need to develop clinical research facilities across Tayside is urgent.
The Diabetes Research Campaign aims to provide the facilities and technology to enable scientists and doctors to work together to develop better and more effective treatments and to devise preventative strategies for the disease.
The Dundee Diabetes Campaign has enabled the University to create a Type 1 diabetes research team led by Dr Rory McCrimmon, recruited from Yale, USA.
The Campaign is close to raising the £3million required to create state of the art research and patient care facilities across Angus, Dundee and Perth & Kinross, adding to the world-class diabetes research programmes which are already well-established through the University and NHS Tayside.
Runners of all abilities, from serious racers to fun runners, have filled all 300 places for the race, and organisers are hoping to better last year’s fundraising total. The last two races around the idyllic Monikie Country Park have raised more than £8000.
The event will begin at Monikie Country Park from 11am on Sunday, May 9th.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
