Honouring Tom
A team of more than 70 staff from the Lowy Cancer Research Centre are running the City2Surf to honour their colleague Dr Tom Bee, who died last year aged 27.
Published on the 12 Aug 2011
Dr Tom Bee was incredibly passionate about science. A post-doctoral researcher who obtained a PhD at Oxford, he travelled to Australia to continue his work in developmental biology at the UNSW Lowy Cancer Research Centre.
In October last year, Tom died from a rare genetic disorder - Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency. He was 27.
To honour Tom's life, his family established the Dr Tom Bee Travel Fund. The purpose of this Fund is to foster and strengthen research links between the Lowy Cancer Research Centre and international centres of excellence in the area of developmental biology, with a particular emphasis on developmental haematopoiesis. The fund will support international researchers to travel to UNSW to continue Tom's important work.
Tom was always up for a challenge, especially if it involved a competition. It's no surprise that Tom's favourite day in Sydney was running the City2Surf. Just a few weeks before he died, Tom completed the 2010 race in 70.09 minutes.
To celebrate Tom's life more than 70 of his friends and colleagues are running the City2Surf this year as the Lowy Cancer Research Centre group, affectionately known as 'Team Tom'.
The team's goal is to raise $40,000 for the fund. Tax deductible donations can be made via the UNSW Foundation's secure online site. Find out more about the team's fundraising efforts at Everyday Hero.
Media contact: Denise Knight, UNSW Media Office, 9385 8920 | 0405 207 685