Stony Brook University

23/08/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 24/08/2024 03:41

Law to Run 200 Miles in 48 Hours for Hartman Center for Parkinson’s Research

Wai Law

Wai Law is once again lacing up his running shoes and going the distance to fight Parkinson's Disease.

Law, an accountant and ultramarathon runner from Bethpage, NY, will run 200 miles in 48 hours this Labor Day weekend to raise money and awareness for the Thomas Hartman Center for Parkinson's Research, dedicated to understanding the causes and symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

This will be Law's fourth charity run, and he will attempt to complete a 4-mile loop 50 times in 48 hours from Friday, August 30 through Sunday, September 1. The start/finish line for each loop will be at The Green Street Eatery in Levittown, NY.

Law trekked across New York State from Buffalo to New York City in 2021, raising more than $40,000 - $22,555 for Parkinson's Disease research at Stony Brook and $17,500 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In 2022, he completed a loop around the entire perimeter of Long Island, raising nearly $20,000 for Parkinson's research and the Adolescent Medicine Fund for Excellence, which helps Stony Brook's Department of Adolescent Medicine provide mental health support and other critical resources to young people on Long Island.

Law was first inspired to run for Parkinson's research after his close friend, Dennis Almodovar of Massapequa, lost his father to Parkinson's disease in 2017. Law called Parkinson's "a horrible disease," adding, "We don't have a cure for it, first of all. Second, it not only affects the patient, but also their families, and it's also something you rarely hear about."

"What we do is two-fold," Almodovar said. "Obviously, we want to raise funds, but the other thing that is important is creating awareness."

The Hartman Center was established in 2013 within the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Stony Brook University, thanks to a generous gift from the Thomas Hartman Foundation for Parkinson's Disease Research, matched by the Simons Foundation. Each year, the Center awards grants to support innovative research projects at Stony Brook University, aiming to advance understanding of Parkinson's disease and develop new therapeutic approaches.

"The support from the Hartman Center has helped jump start a series of very innovative research projects. It brought new researchers into the field and sparked new collaborations between scientists at Stony Brook University," said Alfredo Fontanini, chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. "The projects supported by the Center are typically multidisciplinary. They rely on new technologies and methods to open new alleys of research or address under-studied problems in the field. Over the years, the Center funded work aimed at understanding the genetic and molecular causes of Parkinson's disease or the neurobiological bases of motor and non-motor symptoms."

Runners are invited to join the challenge by running alongside Wai, or coming to the run to cheer him on.

Support Law and the Thomas Hartman Center at Stony Brook University by donating today!