Earlier this year, I was privileged to join the National Advisory Board for Life Science Cares.
Life Science Cares provides a platform for life science companies and their employees to make a difference in eradicating poverty. It raises money to award grants to community nonprofits that implement research-based survival, education, and economic sustainability solutions, supercharging these grants with volunteer hours, donated goods, strategic support, and advocacy.
To date, Life Science Cares has awarded more than $9.5 million in grants and donated 30,000 volunteer hours to the communities of Boston, San Diego, New York, Philadelphia, and the Bay Area.
Within the Life Science Cares community, many heroes raise money and donate their time in a myriad of ways. Because there is magic in the telling and some who are waiting for philanthropic inspiration, I am delighted to highlight Luke Timmerman, an extremely inspirational member of the Life Science Cares community and fellow national advisory board member.
Luke is a biotech journalist, author, entrepreneur, founder of Timmerman Report, a leading biotech industry newsletter, and author of “Hood: Trailblazer of the Genomics Age,” a biography of automated DNA sequencing pioneer Leroy Hood. Luke was named one of the 100 most influential people in biotech in 2015 by Scientific American.
Since 2017, Luke’s Timmerman Traverse Mountain Climbing Campaigns have catalyzed the biotech community to give back more than $10 million to fight cancer, poverty, and sickle cell disease. During his most recent climb in the North Cascades of Washington State, he and a team of biotech executives and investors gained between 6,000 and 8,000 feet of elevation, covering 20 miles of land. The Timmerman Traverse team hit its goal of raising $1 million for Life Science Cares!
Luke graciously answered my five questions below:
1. When and how did the idea of climbing for charity come to you?
I started thinking about climbing for charity in the summer of 2017. I was at a point in my career where I had established the Timmerman Report as a successful subscription-based publication for biotech industry professionals. Around the same time, I had gotten to a point in 15 years of mountaineering where I could seriously consider climbing Mt. Everest, the highest peak in the world. I thought that if I could push myself to climb Everest, that act would inspire the biotech community to give back to a charity that I care about.
2. How did you pick your first beneficiary?
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center had a pre-existing partnership with Alpine Ascents International. That was the guide service I knew I would climb Everest with. The partnership made perfect sense. As a journalist, I knew Fred Hutch scientists and their excellent work. Cancer research was at a moment of great possibility. I thought the biotech community could rally behind the climb of Everest and this excellent beneficiary organization.
3. You have climbed Mount Everest, which is known to be extremely difficult and demanding, and imagine it requires significant training to be in proper shape to take this on. Are there long-term physical effects from the effort?
I had some cold sensitivity in my feet for a while afterwards, but no long-term physical effects. The experience was more important mentally. I came away believing I was capable of much more than I had ever previously thought possible. The sky was the limit.
4. What are the most important qualities to have in team members when making such challenging climbs?
Missionary drive. The people who are most successful on these campaigns are willing to put in the hard work it takes to be successful. That comes from a passionate belief in the cause, the feeling that what they are doing is worthwhile service for others.
5. For others reading this who want to make a difference, what advice would you give them?
Find something you care about passionately in your bones. And think about what it is you have to offer in skills and attributes that might contribute toward that cause. With so much instability in our world, it is important to reflect on the goodness of those trying to have impact.
Luke, thank you for your time, inspiring leadership, and contagious efforts to support Life Science Cares!
