Public invited to meet Pulitzer-winning cancer expert

EDMONTON – The public is invited to hear and meet Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies and the newly released book The Gene.

Dr. Mukherjee is speaking at the inaugural Wellspring Edmonton Allard Lecture Series, hosted by Wellspring Edmonton and made possible by the Allard Foundation, in collaboration with Alberta Innovates — Health Solutions. The event runs May 24 from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Citadel Theatre, 9828 101A Ave. N.W.

Dr. Mukherjee will talk about the prospects of humanity's fight against cancer. He will outline the modern, rapidly evolving understanding of the basic biology of cancer, including the genetics of cancer. He will discuss how these exciting frontiers of knowledge are changing the way we prevent, treat and cure cancer; opening the door to a brighter future.

Cancer experts, physicians, patients, families and supporters will be in attendance, as well as Wellspring Edmonton and Allard Foundation representatives. Come and enjoy the meet and greet, hear the lecture, participate in a Q&A session, and purchase a book and have it signed.

Tickets are $20 for general admission and $10 for students with an ID card, and are available at http://www.wellspringedmonton.ca/events/allard.

About Dr. Mukherjee
Dr. Mukherjee is a Rhodes Scholar, physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Fellow at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, a Staff Cancer Physician at Columbia/NYU Presbyterian Hospital, and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University. He has been published in Nature, New England Journal of Medicine, Neuron, Journal of Clinical Investigation, The New York Times, and The New Republic.

About Wellspring Edmonton
Wellspring Edmonton is a community-driven, not-for-profit centre to support people who have been diagnosed with any type of cancer, along with their families, friends and caregivers. Wellspring aims to provide a comprehensive range of cancer supports, resources and programs for patients and their families so they can develop skills and strategies to improve their quality of life during and beyond cancer. This self-supporting, community-based centre offers high-quality programs and resources delivered by both professionals and trained volunteers.

About the Allard Foundation
The Allard Foundation started with a $500,000 endowment and has grown generously ever since through investment income and family donations. It exists in perpetuity. Dr. Allard incorporated the Allard Foundation as a private entity on Nov. 16, 1978. The Allard Foundation exists for the sole purpose of making Edmonton and Alberta a better place with funding advances in health, education, family and arts programs.

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