Students bike for HIV/AIDS

Alicia Duplessis Jasmin aduples@tulane.edu
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Jessica Patton and Daniel Laub

Tulane graduate students Jessica Patton, left, and Daniel Laub are training for a bike ride this coming summer to benefit people with HIV/AIDS.


Shortly after graduating with their master"s degrees from Tulane University in May, Daniel Laub and Jessica Patton will embark upon a seven-day, 545-mile bike ride to support the advancement of HIV/AIDS treatment and research.

The missions of the organizations supported by the AIDS/LifeCycle event prompted the pair of aspiring physicians to join the ride. LifeCycle benefits the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Laub, who participated in the race as an undergraduate, says it took little convincing to get Patton to sign up.

“I was telling her about my experience, the amazing people I met and the personal accomplishment I felt when I completed the journey,” says Laub, who along with Patton will earn a master"s degree in biochemistry this spring. “She agreed to do it almost immediately.”

To participate in the ride, riders are asked to raise $3,000. Both say they have been practicing their pitches and plan to begin soliciting donations from fellow students and local businesses during spring break.

“HIV and AIDS is a problem in the region were the race is being held, but it"s also a major problem here in New Orleans,” says Patton.

“Our participation is two-fold. On one hand, we see this as a physical challenge. On the other hand, it"s a chance to help so many people who live their lives everyday in the face of this disease.”

Donations can be made directly to Laub and Patton via the AIDS/LifeCycle website.

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