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ICRF To Celebrate 40 Years of Cancer Research At New York Gala

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Famed criminal attorney and renowned Jewish philanthropist Benjamin Brafman will serve as Master of Ceremonies at the upcoming Tower of Hope dinner at the Guastavino’s in New York City

Founders and Supporters will be recognized at Event

The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) will celebrate 40 years of lifesaving cancer research on November 9, 2015 at Guastavino’s in New York city. The gala will pay tribute to ICRF founders and early supporters. Dr. Yosef Shiloh, an ICRF-supported scientist and head of the Myers Laboratory for Genetic Research at the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, will be the guest speaker. Benjamin Brafman will serve as Master of Ceremonies and Brad Zimmerman will provide the evening’s entertainment.

Among the founders and supporters who will be honored are the late Dr. Daniel Miller,

founder of ICRF. He conceived of the idea for an organization that would fund young researchers so that they would remain in Israel instead of leaving the country for research opportunities abroad .He was a member of the Charter Board and was responsible for recruiting many other people to ICRF. Dr. Miller was a cancer researcher and president emeritus of Strang Cancer Prevention Cancer. He was best known for his work on genetic susceptibility to cancer and the environmental risk factors likely to affect it.

He also had a long association with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and its lymphoma clinic. Dr. Mark A. Israel, International Trustee and Current Chair of the Scientific Review Panel B, joined the organization ten years ago. He is director of Dartmouth–Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center and professor of genetics at the Geisel School of Medicine of Dartmouth College. He is one of the world’s foremost experts in neuro-oncology research. Sol Spiegelman, 1914-1983, was another noted ICRF Charter Member. He was an American biologist who made significant contributions in the fields of molecular biology, microbial genetics and cancer research. He was a recipient of the prestigious Lasker Award and the Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize in Biology. He was drawn to ICRF because of his concern for Israel and the future of its people. He was also very dedicated to the Weizmann Institute of Science, which he help found.

Dr. Elliot Osserman, also an ICRF Charter Board Member, was an expert in cancer and immunology. He directed a major research laboratory and clinic at Columbia University. As a member of the Board of the National Institutes of Health, he was familiar with their grant evaluation process, and encouraged ICRF to replicate the rigorous system. He urged ICRF to carefully and objectively choose only the best of applications.

Dr. Henry Seymour Kaplan, 1918-1984, was a radiologist whose pioneering work in radiation therapy and radiobiology helped to develop a cure for Hodgkin’s disease. An ICRF Charter Board Member, Dr. Kaplan was also an advisor to President Nixon in the “War on Cancer. “ Dr. Irwin Weinstein, 1926-2002, was an internationally known authority on clinical hematology. In addition to being a charter member of the ICRF International Board, he was also a founder of the Los Angeles Chapter of ICRF.

Because he was a scientist as well as a clinician, he was able to be very proactive in the establishment of the Scientific Review Panel and its process for reviewing grant applications. Dr. Charlotte Friend, 1921-1987, was a medical microbiologist who made important breakthroughs in the understanding of cancer and its causes. At the time of her death, she was a professor and director of the Center for Experimental Cell Biology at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She became an ICRF Charter Board Member after meeting a group of fellow researchers who had all been to Israel and who were impressed by the opportunities for cancer research there. The group included Dr. Daniel Miller who shared his vision for ICRF.

According to Eric Heffler, Executive Director of ICRF,” When we looked at the bios of ICRF founders and supporters, we were mesmerized. They were top scientists and doctors. They were visionaries, philanthropists and Zionists. They had a dream to eradicate cancer but they wanted to do it in a way that would also strengthen Israel. And today, forty years later, we have two Nobel Laureates, three FDA-approved cancer drugs—Velcade, Gleevec and Doxil, and millions of dollars raised to support cancer research in Israel. The efforts of ICRF have saved countless lives worldwide.”

The Israel Cancer Research Fund is the single largest source of private funds for cancer research in Israel. Since its establishment in 1975, it has provided 2,205 grants totaling more than $56 million to outstanding scientists who work at all of the leading research institutions in Israel.

The Gala evening will begin at 6:30 with a reception, followed by a buffet dinner, program and an awards ceremony. For more information, please contact New York Director of Development, Tel.(212) 969-9800, ext. 225 or [email protected].

Major accomplishments of ICRF grantees include:

Velcade – a drug used to treat multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, was developed based on the research of

ICRF Professors and Nobel Prize winners, Drs. Avram Hershko & Aaron Ciechanover, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology

Gleevec – the first drug to directly target cancer cells, was developed based on the research work of ICRF awardee, Dr. Eli Canaani, Weizmann Institute of Science

Doxil – the first drug encapsulated in a liposome (or microscopic fat bubble) for direct delivery to a tumor site, was developed by ICRF awardee, Dr. Alberto Gabizon, Shaare Zedek Medical Center

The p53 Gene – originally thought to cause cancer, was correctly identified as a tumor suppressor, and its role in the majority of human cancers further elucidated by ICRFawardees, Drs. Moshe Oren and Varda Rotter, Weizmann Institute of Science

DNA Methylation – is a molecular process that turns genes on and off. Pioneering work in this area was performed by ICRF Professor and Israel Prize winner, Dr. Howard Cedar, Hebrew University/Hadassah Medical School

The RAD51 Gene – The discovery that a minor mutation in this gene increases the risk of breast cancer in women with the BRCA2 gene mutation was made by ICRF awardee Dr. Ephrat Levy-Lahad, Shaare Zedek Medical Center

A Novel Bone Marrow Transplant Technique – to greatly expand the donor pool for leukemia treatment, was developed by ICRF awardee, Dr. Yair Reisner, Weizmann Institute of Science

Sam Stein

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