Accelerate Telomere Biology Disorder Research
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Join Team Telomere for the 2026 Million Dollar Bike Ride!
Each year, Research Season is a special time for the Team Telomere community. It is a time to come together around something that matters deeply to us all: building a future with better answers, better care, and better treatment options for individuals and families impacted by Telomere Biology Disorders.
Telomere Biology Disorders are a group of rare conditions that can affect the body in many ways, including bone marrow failure, pulmonary fibrosis, liver disease, cancer, and other serious health complications. Research funding for TBDs remains severely limited, making community-driven support essential to advancing better diagnostics, stronger management strategies, more effective treatments, and paths toward cures.
At Team Telomere, we are committed to accelerating patient-centered research while keeping the community perspective at the forefront of scientific progress. We believe research should reflect the real needs, priorities, and lived experiences of those most impacted. We firmly believe that research is the cornerstone of hope.
Since 2014, Team Telomere has partnered with Penn’s Orphan Disease Center through the Million Dollar Bike Ride to drive high-quality research for TBDs. Through MDBR and our broader research programs, Team Telomere has helped raise over $1.3 million to fund meaningful research for Telomere Biology Disorders, including efforts to advance clinical trials, explore potential treatments, and deepen our understanding of these complex diseases.
This year is especially meaningful, as it marks Team Telomere’s final year grandfathered into the Million Dollar Bike Ride. We want to make this season strong and meaningful, honoring the journey that brought us here and fueling the research still ahead.
Our goal this year is to raise $40,000 for TBD research - and we are already halfway there! Help us raise the final $20,000 to reach our goal.Why We RideOur MDBR journey began as Team Josh’s DCO Riders, honoring Joshua Friedman. Josh passed away in 2011 from Dyskeratosis Congenita, a telomere biology disorder. Josh lived a full and beautiful life and touched many people throughout his journey. His lasting legacy continues to be a gift to our community.
Every rider, fundraiser, and donor helps push forward the discoveries needed to improve care and advance better treatment options for TBDs.
Research Season gives our community a tangible way to be part of that progress. Through fundraising, awareness, advocacy, and shared stories, families, friends, clinicians, researchers, and supporters all play a role in moving this work forward.
We are asking our community to rally their friends, families, and networks to support this final MDBR season. By creating a fundraiser, making a gift, or sharing our campaign, you are helping accelerate the medical and scientific community’s work to better understand TBDs, improve care, and pursue paths toward cures.
Ready, Set, Pedal for Research!
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