05/15/2025
On behalf of the RWM committee, we are pleased to share that with your support and generosity we raised over $36,000 this year for a grand total of over $100,000k in pancreatic cancer research dollars to honor Mary Morrison Gillam!
We’d like to again thank all of our runners, volunteers, sponsors, and in-kind supporters to wrap up our efforts, we’d like to share these words by Mary’s UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center’s surgeon, Dr. HJ Kim, “time moves along, but we are still motivated on a daily basis by the memories of the strength and dedication of Mary and her amazing family.
I think about her when I walk into our modern and spacious North Carolina Surgical Tower, but still saddened by the reminder that I need to focus to operate on yet another patient with an advanced pancreatic cancer.
I think about the research progress in our Pancreas Center of Excellence, led by Dr. Jen Jen Yeh, and the growing number of outstanding clinical trials at the Basnight Cancer Hospital that we are developing with Dr. Ashwin Somasundaram – but the pace of the progress never seems fast enough. Although I am sorry that I can’t be there to walk with you today, I am heartened by the fact that how we take care of patients with pancreatic cancer today has evolved from how we took care of patients just a few years ago, and UNC remains in the forefront of the novel strategies that are being developed to improve outcomes in pancreatic cancer.
Today, we have a better understanding of the molecular subtypes of pancreatic cancer and its microenvironment, which can affect how the cancer responds to our standard chemotherapies – our studies will likely lead to a better tailoring of therapies based on individual molecular signatures of pancreatic cancer. We have opened clinical trials using CAR-T therapies for pancreatic cancer, and are recruiting physician scientists who will focus on how we can better target pancreatic cancer with immunotherapeutic strategies.
Importantly, we have recruited a Cancer Center Director, Dr. Ferris, who will also lead a healthcare system-wide cancer service line to implement screening access and healthcare quality across the state, so that we can better coordinate care not only at the UNC Medical Center but in communities where healthcare may not be as readily accessible.
We understand the missions of UNC as the flagship of the state of North Carolina, but it is the memories of our patients like Mary and her family to remind us the urgency of those missions.”
We have made an impact in giving others a fair fight, thank you so very much! 💜
2025 Sponsors:
Presenting Sponsor
EC Dental, Dr. Rob Gillam
Gold Sponsor:
The Biggs Family
Silver:
Dr. McRee
Sentara
Wilkinson Cadillac
Nell & John Morrison
Bronze:
Southeastern Fuels
Quality Restoration
Tucker Brown Investments
Benjamin House
Harman Law Firm
John David Melton / Kathryn & Allen Smith
Rick Anderson Fitness
Hall & Nixon Real Estate
Hornthal, Riley, Ellis and Maland
Christ Episcopal Church
John Peel Pottery
Brian Beasley Farm Bureau Ins. Camden
Devon & Stu Morrison
Matthew Morrison
Smith Contracting
Albemarle Glass
Buddy Gregory Body Shop
R&L Landscaping
Chrissy & John Weeks
LFM Properties
Virginia Oncology
Hit the Pavement:
Williams Strawberry Farm
Brenda & Terry Daniels
Whitehurst Sand Co.
Coastal Carolina Insurance
Morrisette Group
Beat Cancer:
Donahue Defense Law
Perry Auto Group
In-kind
Pepsi
Joel Sutton Photography
Our UNC donation page will be up for the rest of the month if you feel inspired to contribute:
https://www.givecampus.com/schools/UNCChapelHill/run-with-mary-2025/?a=8420561
