Biking around Lake Michigan for Brain Cancer

Update: Wow! Thank you to all for your continued support! We have exceeded our goal of $5000 raised for Northwestern GBM research (July '23). Please continue sharing this page in order to raise funds and awareness! I am beyond grateful for your contributions.

Dear Chicago community, My name is Dillan Prasad and I am a cyborg neuroscience researcher, UChicago graduate student, and incoming medical student at Northwestern Feinberg. I also happen to love road biking.

This Summer, I will bike around Lake Michigan for a total of 500 miles in 5 days. My goal is to raise $10 for every mile that I bike in support of Northwestern Medicine brain cancer research. Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive brain cancer with a median prognosis of only 14 months; a GBM diagnosis spells tragedy for most. I've seen firsthand how devastating this cancer is for patients and their families.

As a former researcher at the Northwestern Medicine Lurie Cancer Center, I used CRISPr genetic engineering approaches to target GBM and help discover better treatments. Working under Dr. Leon Platanias, I was deeply inspired to join the fight against GBM. In medical school next year, I will spend much time continuing this research. A significant focus of my future career will be treating GBM patients while concurrently researching novel therapeutics in search of better outcomes.

100% of the proceeds go to the Northwestern Medicine Robert Lurie Cancer Center for glioblastoma research. Your ask: $10/mile! Thank you for supporting Chicago brain cancer research!

Logistics: I will be using my Specialized Tarmac SL6 Sport road bike, carrying with me my phone, two bottles of water, and a small spare kit. A rotation of friends and family members will support me at each stopping destination in a follow car, which will have medical supplies, and essentials. I anticipate eating about 4200 calories/day, which will be awesome. I'll share photos and videos of my cycling and eating as the trip continues. This is how I plan to break up each day. The segments are all roughly equal in length, resulting in around 100 miles/day: Day 1: Manitowoc, WI to Milwaukee, WI Day 2: Milwaukee, WI to Glencoe, IL Day 3: Glencoe, IL to New Buffalo, MI Day 4: New Buffalo, MI to Holland, MI Day 5: Holland, MI to Ludington, MI *Return to WI on Lake Michigan Car Ferry.

I became obsessed with improving my times, distances, and exploring far-flung Chicago suburbs on my road bike just before COVID hit. In the years after, I began taking cycling more seriously through off-season training, carefully balancing my diet, and even buying a Wahoo KICKR to ride during the winter. My power output and distances have quickly grown with time and lots of hard work. I now regularly do 50-70 mile rides, most recently biking from Indiana to Wisconsin in the late fall. I biked up the east coast of Denmark. I am training for regional crit races this spring/summer. I'm looking forward to continuing my cycling journey as a medical student and beyond.