Funding Transformative Cancer Research One Question at a Time

Sometimes a dollar is just a dollar.

But when you raise a dollar — or a pile of them — for an organization like the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center in Madison, the money helps pilot cancer research that eventually draws federal funding.

That original dollar multiplies by enabling innovation, which brings in the additional funding, which pays for more research, which saves additional lives.

It means that the original dollar does the work of 15 dollars. The impact is huge.

So when Exact Sciences had the opportunity to serve as the presenting sponsor of a recent trivia night fund-raiser benefitting UW Carbone, the choice was an easy one.

Nate Harrill, vice president and deputy general counsel at Exact Sciences, recently joined the Emerging Leadership Board, a group of young professionals that raises awareness and funding for the UW Carbone. He floated the idea of Exact sponsoring the event, held in February in conjunction with Andy North and Friends. (North, a two-time U.S. Open winner and Madison native, is a cancer survivor and a champion of cancer research.)

The result: three local organizations joining forces in the fight against cancer.

"As a company, we have a lot of success,” Harrill said. “With that success comes a lot of responsibility to use it to drive impact in our community.”

This wasn’t your typical bar-night trivia party. Held at stylish concert venue The Sylvee in Madison, the event attracted 26 tables of players from throughout the community, including 18 Exact employees. Athletes and coaches from UW-Madison mingled with the crowd, offering trivia answer hints in exchange for donations.

The night raised $108,000 for UW Carbone, which counts among its achievements discovering how viruses cause cancer, rewriting national recommendations on breast cancer screening, and executing the world’s first bone marrow transplant.

Harrill left the event inspired. “I won't be surprised if the trivia night is the most memorable thing I do this year,” he said. “This is the first time I've joined a board and partnered with others to advance the fight against cancer and drive impact. This will not be the last.”

To learn more about its groundbreaking trials and studies, visit UW Carbone.