Illinois Medicine

spent helping our mom at the restaurant, it was tough." Weeks passed and the twins steadily increased their mileage. Then the going got tougher. "Once we passed the 12-mile point, we hit a wall," says Nikki. "But every donation that came in gave us more incentive to keep training." The morning of the 2009 Chicago Marathon dawned with near freezing temperatures and reports of icy patches on the streets. With more than $5,000 in donations in hand, the pressure was on—and the Haras twins were psyched. "The crowd was wild at the start," recalls Chris. "It was really fun. But when the going got rough and I had to dig deep, I started feel- ing all of these crazy emotions about our dad. My hip was hurting and it would have been so easy to say 'I can't do this. ' Then I remembered what our dad had gone through and thought, 'How can I complain about 26.2 miles?'" "We crossed the finish line together, holding hands," Nikki adds. "It was such an emotional experience—tears, laughter, anger— so many emotions all mixed together. And the entire time, I couldn't stop thinking about our dad." Chris and Nikki run so that others have the opportunity to beat diabetes. THE CHICAGO his researchers were doing, I was sold right away. I couldn't wait to get started." After that emotional first marathon in 2009, the Haras twins continued their fundraising as Cellmates, running the Chicago and New York marathons in 2010. Chris ran both marathons, which were only six weeks part, while suffering from an upper respiratory infection. Nikki injured her knees in the New York marathon and had to stop every two miles to ice them. It took her seven hours to reach the finish line, which she crossed with tears streaming down her face. But by 2011, Nikki was sidelined by injuries, so Chris ran the ING New York Marathon with the Cellmates team while her twin cheered her on. This year, despite Chris' packed schedule as a full-time employee at OptionsCity Software, Inc. and a part-time student at DePaul University, she has found the time to train. Chris and Nikki will once again carry the torch as Cellmates at the 2012 Chicago Marathon in memory of their father. "Dr. O is such an inspiration to me," Nikki confides, "and ev- eryone on the Cellmates team has a story about why they are running. It's been healing to know that we are not alone." "It's a wonderful program," adds Chris. "If we can help just one diabetic who is experiencing the same complications that our dad did—or give hope to one person who has a parent or a child with diabetes, it will be worth every mile." After logging nearly 200 miles and raising thousands of dollars to fight diabetes, Chris and Nikki could retire their running shoes and take a well-deserved break. But the Haras twins aren't done fighting yet. They'll continue to honor their fallen father by contributing everything they can to the efforts to find a cure until the disease that killed him is stopped in its tracks. producing islet cells a viable treatment option for the majority of type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. During the islet transplant research team's first clinical trial, transplanted islet cells quickly began to act as insulin factories in 10 out of 10 transplant recipients, enabling them to achieve insulin-independence. The CDP is now in the final stages of a Phase 3 clinical trial, which will bring José Oberholzer, MD, and his colleagues one step closer to establishing islet transplantation as a standard of medical care. To complete the clinical trials the CDP needs to fund at least 20 individual successful transplants, which cost $100,000 each in treatment and therapy. Meanwhile, CDP researchers are making these transplants safer T and more effective by researching islet-cell encapsulation methods to protect the cells from immune system assaults and eliminate the need for immunosuppressive drugs after transplantation. The researchers are also investigating a promising new procedure called cell genesis, which has the potential to provide an unlimited supply of islet cells and eventually eliminate the dependency on organ donors. "We are close to a functional cure," says Oberholzer. "Every time we perform an islet transplant, we completely transform a life. There are few examples of research where the results are so tangible and concrete. Now our biggest impediment to moving forward is money. We are funded by the federal government, but it's not enough—not by far. We need more philanthropic support." Oberholzer will continue to pursue his two passions, medicine and running, to raise funds for diabetes research until islet cell therapy is a reality for every diabetic. To help give diabetics their lives back and support the funding of the stage 3 clincal trials contact Dolores Metzger at (312) 996-8769 or dmetzger@uic.edu. To make 2012 the year you run for a cure, visit www.cellmatesontherun.com. Not a runner? You can still help change the lives of millions who suffer from diabetes. Find out more at www.chicagodiabetesproject.org/ support. Or donate at www.outrundiabetes.com. DIABETES PROJECT Global Collaboration for a Faster Cure HE FIRST INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION OF ITS KIND, the Chicago Diabetes Project was launched in 2004, when the Washington Square Health Foundation provided seed money to bring top researchers from the U.S., Switzerland, France, Norway and Slovakia to the University of Illinois to advance diabetes research. The CDP's mission is to make the transplantation of insulin- ILLINOIS MEDICINE 25 PHOTO: SUSAN REICH

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