A Curious Mind A Curious Mind - Giving - Cedars

Catalyst
FA L L 2 0 1 5
A Curious Mind
Whether she’s funding lifesaving
research, rescuing unwanted
animals or preparing to rocket
into space, Erika Glazer goes all
in when she feels the spark.
Contents
Catalyst
®
12
A Curious Mind
Whether she’s funding lifesaving
research, rescuing unwanted animals
or preparing to rocket into space,
Erika Glazer goes all in when she
feels the spark.
Catalyst is published by the
Cedars-Sinai Community
Relations and Development
Department.
Senior Vice President for
Community Relations
and Development
Arthur J. Ochoa, JD
16
Vice President, Marketing
and Communications
Richard Elbaum
Moments to Remember
Susan and David Wilstein have made great memories
together, and they’re dedicated to helping others
do the same by supporting critical
memory disorder research.
Senior Editor
Wayne Niemi
Managing Editor
Susan L. Wampler
18
Art Direction
The Doyle|Logan Company
Hoop
Dreams
Jeanie Buss’ father taught
her how to build an
unbeatable team, and she’s
using those skills to help
assemble an A-list roster of
cancer surgeon-scientists.
Event Photographers
AB Images
Vince Bucci
Thomas Neerken
donor news
20
Breathing Easy
20 From
Warren and Maritza Nelson
make monthly gifts to CedarsSinai’s lung transplant
program to support others in
need of the lifesaving care that
helped Warren.
1 The Power of You
© 2015 by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Letters to the editor, address changes,
requests to be added/removed from
our mailing list, or all other inquiries can
be addressed to Catalyst, Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Suite
2416, Los Angeles, CA 90048. We can also
be reached by phone at 323-866-6272 and
by email at [email protected].
Cedars-Sinai Health System does not
discriminate against any person on
the basis of race, color, national origin,
disability, age, or sex in admission,
treatment, or participation in its programs,
services, and activities, or in employment.
For further information about this policy,
contact the vice president, Corporate
Integrity Program, at 323-866-7875. E
2 Circle of Friends
2 Gift of Life
3 Red Nose Day
3 Food for Thought
4 Put to the Test
6 Bedside Traveler
7 Simulation Center
Having Real Impact
the Heart
Continuing their longstanding
support of the medical center,
Diane and Guilford Glazer
have established the new Diane
and Guilford Glazer Cardiac
Imaging Research Fund at
Cedars-Sinai.
8 Run for Her:
Strength in Every
Community
10 Fool’s Gold
21
Global Crusade
The Avon Foundation for
Women enables breast cancer
specialists to train at CedarsSinai as part of its Global
Scholars program.
support groups
28Board of Governors
volunteer services
42 Teen Scene
30 The Brain Trust
in the community
46 A Roadmap
to Health
11 Easy Giving
32The Fashion
Industries Guild
22The Campaign
for Cedars-Sinai
34The Heart
Foundation
48 Parting Shot
events
24 Appointments,
dedications and
events in the
Cedars-Sinai
community
36The Helping Hand
of Los Angeles
Back cover:
Events
38Sports Spectacular
40 Women’s Guild
the starting point
The Power of You
W
ith the fall season upon us, excitement is building around the
transition to the public phase of the Campaign for Cedars-Sinai
fundraising effort.
The campaign began in 2010 with the goal of raising $600 million
to fund lifesaving research, develop new therapies and better serve our
community. This support is vital to our mission of providing high-quality
care rooted in groundbreaking research discoveries.
We need your help. We are well on our way to achieving our campaign
goal, but we aren’t there yet.
Now, we’re reaching out to friends like you. Every gift to this campaign
will move us closer to new ways to treat — and prevent — a host of
medical concerns.
As an independent, nonprofit, freestanding hospital, Cedars-Sinai
has something no other institution has — you, our grateful patients, our
community, and our longtime and new supporters.
We’ve already accomplished great things together, building a truly worldclass medical center and medical research enterprise. We stand as one of the
world’s top hospitals and research institutions because of your support.
In this new phase of the campaign, which runs through June 30, 2018, we
want you to understand that you have the power to change lives, even with just a
small donation.
• You can help invent new, lifesaving treatments.
• You can assist in developing personalized medicine and targeted therapies that
work best for each patient’s unique needs.
• You can help keep older adults well and provide them with high-quality care
when they need it.
• You can contribute to efforts to set new standards for innovation in patient care
and biomedical research.
• You can support robust academic programs for the next generation of healthcare
providers through support of residencies, fellowships, the PhD program and
continuing medical education.
You’ll be seeing a lot about our campaign over the coming months and years.
We will highlight our research successes and share some personal stories about
health and healing.
On page 22 of this issue, you’ll find an overview of the campaign and its various
components.
We need you to be a part of the Campaign for Cedars-Sinai. We want you to
join us and know that the lives we save, the suffering we ease, the hope we give —
it all begins with you.
Arthur J. Ochoa|Senior Vice President for Community Relations and Development
CATALYST FALL 2015
1
Gift of Life
“I was recently a patient
at Cedars-Sinai with
a seriously broken
leg requiring three
surgeries — two of
them at Cedars-Sinai.
Every single employee
I interacted with was an
absolute professional
and polite. But I would
like to acknowledge
Alicia Curiel, who was
an angel to me and
crucial to my recovery.
I will never forget her
kindness, compassion
and care.”
—Dennis Canel
By making a gift through Circle
of Friends, you not only honor a
special caregiver, you also help
Cedars-Sinai make advances in
biomedical research, educate
tomorrow’s physicians and
continue to serve the community.
For more information about
Circle of Friends and how you
can say “thank you,” visit
csmc.edu/circleoffriends.
2
CATALYST FALL 2015
J
ordan Pomerantz was finishing third grade when her parents, Kim and
Andrew, noticed some bruising and took her to her pediatrician. Because
she was an active child, neither they nor the doctor were concerned at first.
All that changed within a few short hours.
After the initial lab results came in, the pediatrician urged the Pomerantzes to
take Jordan to the Cedars-Sinai Emergency Department to draw more blood and
run further tests. They were unprepared for the diagnosis they received: Jordan
had acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“We were shocked,” recalls Kim. “It was devastating.”
Chemotherapy began immediately, but because it caused Jordan’s hair to fall
out — among other side effects — treatment felt nearly as devastating as the disease
itself. No matter how much her mom and dad tried to
comfort her, Jordan grew depressed and felt alone.
“You know that other people have cancer, but,
in your house, you feel lonely because nobody else
has it,” Jordan told an interviewer.
Those closest to Jordan were determined to
show their love for her in the most tangible,
lifesaving way possible — by donating blood and
platelets for her treatment.
“Many of our friends and family came to
Cedars-Sinai and made directed donations
for Jordan’s benefit,” says Andrew. Jordan
received all the blood products she
needed to support her treatment. And,
since some of the donations were not
a matching blood type for her, they
were able to help other patients in
need at Cedars-Sinai.
That outpouring of support, along
with the care Jordan received at the
medical center, made all the difference.
“It’s now been over a year since Jordan
finished her last chemotherapy,” says
her mother. “And we’re very happy that
part is over for her.”
Now a healthy 13-year-old in eighth
grade, Jordan still appreciates the generosity
of the family, friends and community
members who donated the blood products
she received. “Without them, I might not
have been here today,” she says. “So I just
want to thank them.”
C
Day
ountry singer and The Voice
mentor Blake Shelton celebrated
the first-ever Red Nose Day in the
United States with the staff of COACH for
Kids and Their Families®, a program of the
Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Children’s Health
Center. Originating in the United Kingdom,
Red Nose Day uses lightheartedness to
raise money for the serious cause of
helping underprivileged youth. The 12
charities in the U.S. that benefit include
Children’s Health Fund, a national network
of mobile clinics, of which Cedars-Sinai’s
COACH program is a crucial part.
“This is a poor neighborhood down here.
If it wasn’t for this mobile clinic, a lot of
these kids wouldn’t be getting any medical
attention at all,” Shelton says of COACH and
the low-income communities it serves.
On May 21, NBC aired the inaugural
Red Nose Day USA telethon, featuring stars
of comedy, music and film.
Food for Thought
(from left) TEEN LINE Executive Director Michelle Carlson, Board
President Jeffrey A. Kaplan and founder Dr. Elaine Leader at the 2015
Food for Thought Luncheon, presented by the Sumner M. Redstone
Charitable Foundation
T his year’s TEEN LINE Food for Thought Luncheon honoring volunteers
and supporters was presented by the Sumner M. Redstone Charitable
Foundation and hosted by Gabriel Sunday. Ellie Schneir and Peter Mezza
received the 2015 Humanitarian Award, while the Herzer family garnered
the Above and Beyond Family Award. Distinguished Service Awards went to
Paulina Grekov, Netanya Perluss and Arielle Tooch. Teen honorees were:
Eddie Katehakis and Edson Montenegro, Teen Hero Awards; Emily Bisno and
Nikolas Kroner, Outstanding Listener Awards; and Lili Cairl and Sophia Rogg,
Teen Voice Awards.
A confidential peer-to-peer telephone helpline, TEEN LINE was founded
in 1980 by Elaine Leader, PhD, and other mental health professionals who
recognized the need for a more inclusive approach to adolescent health.
TEEN LINE provides a safety net for teenagers through its hotline, website,
outreach programs and training workshops. The hotline receives some 10,000
calls, texts and emails annually, while more than 38,000 teens attend
TEEN LINE’s outreach efforts to schools and community groups. The website
receives more than 200,000 visitors from around the world each year.
CATALYST FALL 2015
3
In recognition of National
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness
month in November, Catalyst
is highlighting Cedars-Sinai’s
response to the deadly disease.
With pancreatic
cancer diagnoses
on the rise,
Cedars-Sinai is
striking back
with pioneering
clinical trials.
By Veronique de Turenne
Put to the Test
I
t was just after Thanksgiving when Diane Allen’s husband, Bryan Axelrood,
mentioned that his stomach was bothering him. He felt a bit of pain and some
passing nausea but, since he had just received a clean bill of health after a
physical exam weeks earlier, neither he nor Diane was worried.
The pain grew so severe that Diane insisted Bryan see a specialist. Then came the
shocking diagnosis — pancreatic cancer. Bryan passed away six weeks later.
“It all happened so fast,” Diane recalls, shaking her head in disbelief. She and Bryan,
a well-regarded tax attorney, were high school sweethearts. Married for 28 years, they
made their home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles with their daughter, Katie.
“That’s the way it is with pancreatic cancer,” Diane says. “It’s so hard to diagnose
and treat that you get very little time.”
Now, Diane is responding in the best way she knows how by funding a pancreatic
cancer study led by Richard Tuli, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist in the Department
of Radiation Oncology and on the faculty of the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin
Comprehensive Cancer Institute. The funding was awarded through the PHASE ONE
Foundation, a nonprofit that supports Phase I clinical trials and research to identify
novel treatments for cancer patients. In 2007, Steven Piantadosi, MD, PhD, director of
the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, was named the inaugural PHASE
ONE Foundation Chair at Cedars-Sinai.
Pancreatic cancer, among the most difficult forms of cancer to detect and treat, is
on the rise, according to Dr. Tuli. Age is one of the known risk factors, with nearly
all patients older than 45. With baby boomers starting to reach retirement age, the
number of cases of pancreatic cancer continues to increase each year.
“The population is aging, and still we have no effective screening process for the
disease. So, we catch it late, when it has proven extremely difficult to treat,” Dr. Tuli notes.
T
his is something Dr. Tuli and his colleagues at Cedars-Sinai are working to
change. Through a series of clinical trials, including the one funded by Diane
and the PHASE ONE Foundation, researchers at the medical center are laying
the groundwork for early detection and more effective treatments.
The trial, led by Dr. Tuli, investigates how to take control of the cellular pathways
that pancreatic tumor cells use to repair themselves after they are damaged by
radiation and chemotherapy.
“We kill tumor cells with chemotherapy and radiation, but the tumors grow back
because [cells] are able to sustain themselves through that [attack] and [then] repair
themselves,” Dr. Tuli adds. “Using a drug that inhibits that [pathway] improves the
likelihood that the cancer cells will die and the tumors will shrink.”
More than 25 additional pancreatic cancer trials have taken place at Cedars-Sinai
this year. In addition, researchers are pooling results of gene sequencing and other
tests to build a vast and diverse database from which they can extrapolate how and
why pancreatic cancer behaves as it does.
“We are collaborating with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network on a large
4
CATALYST FALL 2015
“It all happened
so fast. That’s
the way it is with
pancreatic cancer. It’s so hard to
diagnose and treat
that you get very
little time.”
—diane allen
gene sequencing project to profile 1,000 patients with pancreatic cancer,”
says Andrew Hendifar, MD, MPH, a medical oncologist specializing in
gastrointestinal cancer. Noting that such collaborations are vital to the CedarsSinai community, he adds: “We have the largest pancreatic cancer clinical
trial program in Southern California. We are very fortunate to have an expert,
multidisciplinary pancreatic cancer team at Cedars-Sinai. Our goal is to
continue to expand our pancreatic cancer research enterprise and ultimately
establish a dedicated pancreatic cancer center of excellence.”
The pressing need for leading-edge research is what drives the philanthropy
of organizations such as the PHASE ONE Foundation.
“We try to look for innovative cancer research and for doctors like Dr. Tuli who
have theories that are promising and [may] show an advance in a specific field,”
says Alberto Valner, co-founder of the PHASE ONE Foundation. “Pancreatic cancer
has been very difficult to find solutions for, and we are very pleased to be forming
a strategic alliance with Cedars-Sinai to help find a solution.”
photo by eric myer
For more information on cancer
clinical trials at Cedars-Sinai, contact
Clinical Trials Recruitment Navigator
Jaime Richardson, RN, at 310-423-2133.
CATALYST FALL 2015
5
Bedside Traveler
Volunteer Roger
Fishman uses his
passion — and
compassion —
to transport
hospitalized patients
to other places.
6
CATALYST FALL 2015
O
n a Friday afternoon, wildlife photographer, world traveler and
Cedars-Sinai volunteer Roger Fishman sits next to the bed of patient
Daniel Ornelas and makes him an extraordinary offer.
“I can take you to the Arctic, Antarctic, Alaska or Africa. And that’s just the letter
‘A,’” says Fishman. “Where would you like to go?”
Using his iPad loaded with stunning images from his travels, Fishman engages
Ornelas with photos and stories about polar bears hunting in the Arctic Circle,
walking among the bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo and communing
with Emperor penguins in Antarctica.
The two quickly form a bond as Fishman shares tales of his adventures, such as
enduring minus-50-degree temperatures in Antarctica, hiking with 60 pounds of
photography gear on his back and sleeping in ice-covered tents.
“Through my photography, I can take people to a different world and hopefully
provide an enjoyable distraction from their day-to-day health concerns,” Fishman says.
However, Fishman stresses that his visits aren’t really about the pictures. “I’m
not here just to show them my photographs,” he says. “I use photography as a way
in. Then, if they want to talk about their life, their illness, ask me questions, it’s
really up to them.”
Fishman, who has been volunteering since 2014, says he’s also learned from
patients not to take anything for granted. He recalls a patient asking him if he would
ever return to Antarctica. He responded with a
list of complications involved in planning such an
elaborate trip. The patient then helped provide
clarity for him. “She looked at me and said, ‘If you
can go, you should. Look at me. I can’t. You can.’
That was it. I booked my trip,” he says.
Barbara Leanse, director of Volunteer Services
at Cedars-Sinai, says after meeting Fishman, she
was inspired to create a new Patient and Family
Care visitation program. Volunteers who take part
in the program are trained in providing emotional
support during their visits.
“Roger gives patients a chance to imagine,”
Leanse says. “It’s all about believing you can go
anywhere in this world through a photograph
and talking with someone.”
For his part, Fishman says traveling,
photography and volunteering have given him a
better perspective on life. “It reminds me of how
we’re all connected,” he says. “The least I can do
is give my time and the gift I have of traveling the
world and share it with others. It gives my art and
my time away from my family a higher purpose.”
photo by angela graves
Simulation Center Having Real Impact
J
ust two years after opening, the Women’s Guild
Simulation Center for Advanced Clinical Skills
at Cedars-Sinai has already achieved two major
milestones. The center replicates clinical and
surgical settings by enabling procedures to be practiced
on high-tech human-patient simulators that mimic reallife responses. It has earned recognition from two
prestigious entities: designation as a Comprehensive
Education Institute by the American College of Surgeons
and full accreditation from the Society for Simulation in
Healthcare. This double endorsement places Cedars-Sinai
among a select group of institutions internationally.
FAST FACTS:
The center’s
robotic patients
can blink, bleed,
breathe, give
birth and speak.
Robotic infants
can cry.
Teams of nurses
and physicians
can prepare
for challenging
cases in two
fully functioning
operating rooms, an
intensive care unit
(ICU), an obstetrics
and gynecology
room, a trauma bay
and a pediatric/
neonatal ICU.
Surgeons can sharpen their skills
in a customized training room
with real-life equipment and
true-to-life tissue samples for
suturing and laparoscopy.
In a fully equipped,
computerized simulation room
with state-of-the-art tools, users
can practice robotic surgery
techniques and gastrointestinal/
bronchoscopic, laparoscopic,
hysteroscopic, urologic,
neurologic, cardiovascular and
ultrasound procedures.
Each month, the center is utilized
by about 2,000 users, including
medical students, nursing
students, residents, surgeons,
gynecologists, pediatricians,
internists, anesthesiologists,
emergency room physicians,
nurses, pharmacists, visiting
specialists and more.
Women’s Guild pledged $10 million to establish the simulation center.
CATALYST FALL 2015
7
Strength in Every Community
Supporters from
across the globe
joined forces on
Nov. 15 to fight
ovarian cancer.
8
CATALYST FALL 2015
T
his fall’s 11th annual Run
for Her® was both more
global and more local than
ever before.
Over the past 10 years, thousands
of people have participated in annual
Run for Her events. The results have
been nothing short of inspiring. In
fact, the event has been so successful it
outgrew its venue — a challenge that,
ultimately, presented a new opportunity.
“Ovarian cancer doesn’t just impact
one community,” says Cedars-Sinai’s
Vice President of Development Kenneth
G. Massey. “It’s in every neighborhood.
With a virtual event, we can raise
awareness around the globe. Anyone,
anywhere can participate, regardless of
fitness level or geographic location.”
Participants in this year’s virtual
event registered at runforher.com.
Many chose to sign up as team
captains, recruiting friends and family
to join their fundraising efforts. Also,
they received commemorative 2015
Run for Her shirts and bibs. They were
encouraged to create viral buzz by
posting pictures of their personal walks
and runs to social media platforms,
including Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram.
Social media served a critical role in
the weeks leading up to the event as
well, as participants shared their stories
and connected with other participants
across the country.
All proceeds from Run for Her support the Women’s Cancer Program
at the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin
Comprehensive Cancer Institute.
Finding Strength
in Philanthropy
The Strength to
Beat Three Cancers
A
N
fter losing her mother to ovarian cancer in 2013, Jackie
Stein, 32, has become religious about philanthropy.
Supporting numerous causes focused on women’s health has
been her source of strength, balance and purpose. “In a city like Los Angeles, it’s so easy to get caught up in
the fluff,” says Stein, a Los Angeles attorney and chief of staff
at Prospect Medical Holdings. “Taking
a few hours each day to express
your gratitude for life, or days
throughout the year to support
a cause, is so important —
especially if it means you can
impact the life of another.”
Stein’s team, Eye of a Tiger, was named in memory of her
late mother, who Stein says, “ran the house and was always
so focused and committed to her family and friends.
“The Run for Her platform brings my family and I such joy,”
says Stein. “It’s an opportunity to honor my mom and continue
making progress toward advances and treatments. My goal is
that one day we will have a cure for all cancers.”
ancy Jo Bush’s first cancer diagnosis came in 1982.
It was melanoma, but treatable. Then, in 2007,
she learned she had ovarian cancer.
While coping with her diagnosis, she
received even more devastating
news — she also had breast cancer. “As an oncology nurse, I was too
informed to be in denial,” says Bush,
61. “So my initial reaction was to try to
be as brave as all of my patients have been.”
Through five surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation
treatments led by Beth Y. Karlan, MD, and Armando E. Giuliano,
MD, Bush remained brave and courageous. Dr. Karlan serves
as director of the Women’s Cancer Program at the Samuel
Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai and
is the Board of Governors Chair in Gynecologic Oncology. Dr.
Giuliano is executive vice chair of Surgery for Surgical Oncology
in the Department of Surgery, co-director of the Saul and
Joyce Brandman Breast Center — A Project of Women’s Guild,
associate director of Surgical Oncology at the cancer institute,
and the Linda and Jim Lippman Chair in Surgical Oncology.
When her treatment ended, Bush was faced with reentering
the workforce and picking up her life where she had left off,
and depression crept in.
“My life had changed so drastically, I began asking
questions like ‘why me?’” recalls Bush.
She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder
10 months after her dual diagnoses. But with the support and
guidance of friends and family, Bush got to a place where she
felt like her old self. “I came through this journey as a stronger person,” says
Bush. “This experience also has given me better insight into the
journey my patients face.”
On Nov. 15, Bush participated in her eighth Run for Her event. “Run for Her is the most spiritual event,” says Bush. “It’s a
time to recognize those who have lost their battle but also to
see the strength of supporters and survivors.”
CATALYST FALL 2015
9
GIFT OF ART:
Fool’s Gold
W
hile the titles of Nicole Wermers’ abstract collages
Katzensilber XIII and Katzensilber XIV roughly
translate to “fool’s gold” (or, more literally, “cat silver”),
her genuine artistic craft is as palpable as her painstaking work.
Gifts from Steve and Lizzie Blatt, the pieces are currently on display
in the lobby of the Harvey Morse Auditorium at Cedars-Sinai. They
are part of a series by up-and-coming artist Wermers, who removed
illustrations of mineral specimens from glossy magazines with the
precision of a surgeon using a scalpel. The colorful crystal images seem
to grow out of the background.
The two Katzensilber collages are among the latest additions to the
art collection at Cedars-Sinai, which includes more than 4,000 notable
pieces by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Jasper Johns, Marc Chagall and
Andy Warhol.
Cedars-Sinai’s fine-art collection grew out of the vision and generosity of Marcia Simon
Weisman and Frederick Weisman, who understood the curative power of art and
donated a number of pieces from their own collection to the medical center. Today,
Cedars-Sinai’s world-renowned collection includes thousands of donated pieces, with
an emphasis on contemporary artwork by local established and emerging artists.
For more information about the collection or to make a donation, call 323-866-7798.
Nicole Wermers
Nicole Wermers, 2006
Katzensilber XIII
Katzensilber XIV
Collage Magazines on Paper
17.88 inches x 25.13 inches
12.25 inches x 16 inches
A gift from Steve and Lizzie Blatt
10
CATALYST FALL 2015
Originally from Emsdetten, Germany, Nicole Wermers lives and works
in London, where she earned her master of fine arts (MFA) from
Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design. Her sculptures,
photographs and collages can be found in the permanent collections
of Tate Britain in London, Galerie der Gegenwart at the Hamburger
Kunsthalle in Hamburg, Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt,
the Karl-Ernst Osthaus Museum in Hagen, Germany, and as part of
the DGZ Bank Collection in Düsseldorf, among other locations.
In 2013, Wermers created double-ended teaspoons for Tate
Britain’s renovated café that proved so popular many patrons
stole them.
She has served as resident artist at the Delfina Studio Trust and
Camden Arts Centre, both in London. More recently, she received
fellowships at Villa Massimo — the German Academy in Rome —
and Kingston University in London. In addition to her MFA,
Wermers holds a diploma of fine art from Hochschule für bildende
Künste in Hamburg.
WITH YOUR HELP,
WE’LL BE HERE
FOR HER
GRANDCHILDREN,
TOO.
Easy
Giving
W
hen the Employee Giving Program was launched at Cedars-Sinai
in 2010, Phil Booth, RN, MSN, was among the first to sign up.
For Booth, who has been a staff member since 1979,
the decision to give was an easy one. He enjoys working at Cedars-Sinai,
believes in its mission and appreciates how simple the medical center
makes it for employees to contribute, through payroll deductions, in the
amounts of their choosing.
That ease of giving contrasts with Booth’s hard work for Cedars-Sinai,
which earned him a President’s Award for outstanding performance in 1999
and the Emergency Nurses Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.
After starting out as a nurse in the Emergency Department, he now serves
as an associate faculty member at the Geri and Richard Brawerman Nursing
Institute and as a clinical nurse educator in the Emergency Department. He
also focuses on training future ER nurses — sharing not just his skills and
knowledge, but also his caring and nurturing nature.
“Really, educating staff and educating the community are the same thing,”
says Booth, who serves on Cedars-Sinai’s Education Council and Community
Education Committee in addition to his regular duties. “You’re educating the
community to take care of themselves, and you’re educating the staff to take
care of the community.”
Booth also enjoys giving back because he’s personally benefited from
Cedars-Sinai’s dedication to teaching. “I came here with an associate’s
degree,” he recalls. “The medical center paid for me to get a bachelor’s
degree. Then, through the Nursing Institute, they had a program where I
was able to get my master’s degree.”
He adds that his donations make him feel even more connected to the
medical center. “If I’m still alive and working here when my daughter’s out of
college, I’m increasing the amount,” he says with both sincerity and a chuckle.
For more information on Cedars-Sinai’s Employee Giving Program, visit
giving.cedars-sinai.edu/employeegiving.
photo by scott witter
For more than a century, people
have turned to Cedars-Sinai
for world-class medical treatment
and research.
By including Cedars-Sinai in your
estate plan, you can help ensure
this legacy will be available for
generations to come.
Learn how you can create your
own legacy at Cedars-Sinai.
Contact Rick Robertson
at 323-866-7766 or
[email protected],
or visit www.csmc.edu/giving
A Curious
Whether she’s funding
lifesaving research,
rescuing unwanted
animals or preparing
to rocket into space,
Erika Glazer goes
all in when she feels
the spark.
12
CATALYST FALL 2015
Mind
o
BY WAYNE NIEMI
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT WITTER
n an unseasonably muggy morning, Erika Glazer
is in high spirits at her Malibu home.
Not only is she still basking in the post-win
glory of her NBA championship as
co-owner of the Golden State Warriors, but
she’s also preparing for the weddings of both
her son, Zack, and her daughter, Alex. Even so,
today it’s her two-and-a-half-year-old dog, Earl,
who seems to delight her the most.
“Somebody found him in a freeway carpool
lane,” Glazer says. “A guy stopped his car and
got him. Can you believe that? And then Earl
came here, marked the sofa and said, ‘Okay,
I’m good to stay.’ So, I kept him.”
She tells the story matter-of-factly, but
jumping into the void to meet others’ needs
is one of Glazer’s hallmarks. While she holds
many titles — entrepreneur, philanthropist,
NBA team co-owner — perhaps the label that
best describes her is rescuer-in-chief. Whether
she’s saving dogs or joining the effort to restore
Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Glazer isn’t afraid
to get involved.
Last year, after the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) suffered funding cutbacks, Glazer
again stepped in, pledging $7.2 million to
the Erika J. Glazer Women’s Heart Research
Initiative and the work of C. Noel Bairey
Merz, MD — director of the Barbra Streisand
Women’s Heart Center, director of the Linda
Joy Pollin Women’s Heart Health Program and
director of the Preventive and Rehabilitative
Cardiac Center. For Glazer, heart health is an
issue both personal and upsetting.
“Every death in my family — man or
woman — has been caused by heart disease,”
she says. “That’s part of why I am stepping up.”
This is just the latest gift Glazer has made
to Cedars-Sinai. In addition to establishing
the Erika J. Glazer Chair in Women’s Heart
Health — held by Jennifer Van Eyk, PhD,
director of Basic Science Research at the
Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center and
director of Cedars-Sinai’s Advanced Clinical
Biosystems Research Institute — she has made
significant contributions to the Women’s Health
Educational Fund and other initiatives.
CATALYST FALL 2015
13
F
or Glazer, giving back is simply
part of her family’s legacy.
“My dad taught me really, really well,” she says.
“He helped underdogs a lot. He taught me about
philanthropy. And he always said, ‘Help however and
whomever you can, and be nice to everybody.’”
Here, Glazer dishes on being a champion, her
fearlessness about going into space and her special
morning “board meetings” on the ocean.
What do you do for fun?
EG: I surf. I like to be in nature. I like my dog. I spend
time with my kids. I like to cook. I like to walk in the
mornings.
Where do you feel most at peace?
EG: Out on the water. I have a friend — we’ve been
friends for 55 years — and we talk every day. She comes
over, we take our surfboards and we’ll just paddle out
among the kelp beds and lie on our boards. We call it
our “board meeting.”
How does it feel to co-own an NBA championship team?
EG: Pretty darn good. My daughter got engaged in
You’re scheduled to go into space as part of Richard
September 2014, so she got a ring. My son got engaged
just a couple of months ago, so he gave a ring. And now
I get my championship ring. I’m pretty excited about
that. We’re all getting rings.
Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism company. How do
How did you celebrate the victory?
you feel about the recent crash of SpaceShipTwo?
EG: You know, you see airliners crash, too. It’s pretty
risky to drive in L.A. You see surfer Mick Fanning getting
attacked by the “s” word we don’t say. Well, he’s still
going in the water — and I’m still going to go for it.
EG: I was with the team for the championship game
in Cleveland. We danced. We ate. It was great. Then I
was in the parade up in Oakland, which was the most
fun thing in the world. It felt like a million people were
lining the streets, and it ran for two-and-a-half miles.
When you joined the team as a co-owner, was a
championship part of your vision?
EG: Honestly, we were just hoping to make it to the
playoffs. We made it to the playoffs the first year and the
second year, and the third year we went a little further.
Then we went all the way.
How do you get over a setback like that, whether it’s with
SpaceShipTwo, in business or in your philanthropy?
EG: You just regroup, reformulate and look for new
opportunities. I hate to be “Pollyanna” about this,
because I’m not, but for every door that’s closed, another
door — or three — opens. When the NIH funding door
started to close, I was the door that opened. Barbra
Streisand opened. Ron Perelman opened. I think any
problem can be an opportunity.
Do you ever get discouraged?
EG: I’m too busy to get discouraged. I’m a solutions
Are you feeling the pressure for a repeat next year?
EG: Those are rare dynasties, but it could definitely
happen. A lot of teams get a young player who performs
so-so in their first year and they get traded, so they
don’t get to develop over a period of time. We’re not
doing that. We’ve kept the team intact. So they know
each other on a psychical level — where the ball’s
going, when the ball is going to be tossed. We’ll see
what happens.
14
CATALYST FALL 2015
person. I don’t want to discuss the problem for too long.
If it’s not going to work, how are we going to solve it?
That’s how I am.
How do you define yourself?
EG: I’m curious. When I get into anything, I start learning
about it to find out where the needs are. Then I donate
time, money or brainpower — whatever it needs. It all
starts with curiosity.
“I’m curious. When I get into
anything, I start learning about it
to find out where the needs are.
Then I donate time, money or
brainpower — whatever it needs.
It all starts with curiosity.”
What does it mean to you, personally, to have a hand in
making this a reality?
EG: It’s cool stuff that’s interesting to me. My future son-
in-law signs off his emails with “If you can help, there’s
no reason not to.” So I do.
Your family has a long history of philanthropy.
Who and what inspire you?
How important is it that your children carry on
EG: Dr. Jenny Van Eyk. She’s amazing. She’s the most
that tradition?
normal genius you’ll ever meet. We get together once a
month — Dr. Bairey Merz, Dr. Van Eyk and me. We talk
about our kids. We talk about vacations. Having that
personal relationship is very nice.
EG: It’s very important, and they’re already involved. We
It sounds like you and Drs. Bairey Merz and Van Eyk have
become quite close. What are the most surprising things
you’ve learned about them?
have a dynasty trust that every generation is expected to
contribute to — but every generation also participates
in donating the income from the dynasty trust to various
charities. My daughter is enrolled at USC in the social
entrepreneurship graduate program. She’s learning about
the business side of nonprofits. And she’s already set up
her own nonprofit.
EG: Jenny is an amazing cake decorator. She’s an
incredible artist, on top of being a scientist. And Noel
used to swim competitively. Now she’s teaching her
dog to swim.
What is it about them that won your confidence?
EG: Noel just speaks simply, clearly, profoundly and
with confidence. She’s pretty awesome, and I mean aweinspiring. I can’t even begin to explain Jenny and her
knowledge of science and her expertise, because she’s a
one-off. She’s really a rock star.
How did you instill those values in your children?
EG: When Zack was a baby, he’d be with me when I was
handing out blankets to the homeless. It’s how they grew
up. We have a family foundation, and we get together
and talk about how much to give away and their own
charitable interests. So they’ve just always been involved.
How did your father nurture your philanthropic spirit?
EG: My dad was more about being in your face. He was
more, “You have to. It’s your responsibility. You have to
give back.”
What is your hope for how your gift will change the future
of medicine?
If you could swap places with anyone in the world for
EG: We want to be able to create drugs that are tailored
a day, who would it be?
for each individual. You’ll be able to tell exactly what
side effects that drug will have on your body and be
able to counteract them. When you’re born, doctors will
be able to take a single drop of blood and learn all the
diseases that you may get in your lifetime. It sounds very
science fiction, but it’s close. It’s really close.
EG: I wouldn’t swap places with anybody.
Given your experiences and adventures, what’s the
most valuable piece of advice you can offer?
EG: Foster curiosity in yourself and your children.
You can teach yourself anything if you’re curious.
CATALYST FALL 2015
15
Moments
to Rem
In the movies, it’s called the “meet cute” moment.
A dashing young man sees a comely
young woman across a dance floor.
She waves him over. He threads his
way through the crowd, already lost
in her smile. He approaches and begins
to introduce himself just as he realizes
she was waving to somebody else.
Undeterred, he proceeds to charm
her. They dance. Six months later,
they’re married.
Thus began the real-life partnership
of David and Susan Wilstein who, nearly
67 years later, rank among Los Angeles’
most philanthropic and communityminded couples. The Wilsteins recently
committed $5 million to name the Susan
and David Wilstein Memory Disorders
Research Initiative at Cedars-Sinai, a gift
that will leverage the combined power
of the medical center’s departments of
Neurosurgery and Neurology as they
partner to tackle Alzheimer’s disease
and other forms of dementia.
The potential impact of the gift is
sweeping, but its origins are personal.
After experiencing a fall at home,
Susan had a brain bleed that went
undetected. Days later, she was
admitted to a local hospital and
slipped into a coma. The prognosis
was not good. As David recalls,
16
Susan and David Wilstein have
made great memories together, and
they’re dedicated to helping others
do the same by supporting critical
memory disorder research.
member
By Jeremy Deutchman
“She was finished. She stayed in the coma
for an entire month. But then, suddenly,
she came back.”
Susan’s recovery was remarkable —
and a testament to her fortitude, her
mental sharpness and David’s unwavering
support. Yet her recovery has not been
without setbacks. She struggles with
short-term memory loss, though her
natural wit and intelligence remain intact,
and her ability to recall things from the
distant past can be astonishing.
Equally astonishing is Susan’s
commitment to treat memory disorders
and rewrite the understanding of such
ailments. “We don’t want it just to be
about giving money — we are hoping to
push the field forward,” she says.
T
he Wilsteins’ generous
financial contribution is typical
of the way they have lived
their lives, seeing personal success as an
opportunity to give back to others. David,
the founder and president of respected
commercial real estate firm Realtech
Construction Co., says they have always
focused on charitable endeavors, even
when their means were less substantial.
“Sue and I believe that a certain percentage
of our income should go to charity. It’s
just part of our makeup,” he says.
Over time, that percentage has
grown. After starting his career as a
structural engineer with the California
Division of Highways, David soon began
constructing and overseeing commercial
projects, including high-rise office towers,
apartments, hotels, shopping centers and
medical buildings. A longtime member of
Cedars-Sinai’s Board of Governors and a
member of the medical center’s Board of
Directors, David served on the committee
that oversaw the hospital’s design. One of
his buildings is the landmark Century City
Medical Plaza, which soon will be the site of
the new California Rehabilitation Institute,
a 138-bed, acute inpatient rehabilitation
facility that is a joint venture of CedarsSinai, UCLA Health and Select Medical.
The couple has also offered significant
support to organizations such as City of
Hope, The Music Center and Technion–
Israel Institute of Technology. Susan was
a member of Women’s Guild, which has
raised more than $40 million on behalf of
scientific and clinical advances at CedarsSinai and beyond.
Their advice to would-be philanthropists?
“That’s easy,” Susan says with a laugh. “Don’t
be stingy. If you can afford it, give.”
(at left) Susan and David
Wilstein on their wedding
day in 1948; (above) the
couple in 2004
CATALYST FALL 2015
17
HOOPDREAMS
Jeanie Buss’ father taught her how to
build an unbeatable team, and she’s using
those skills to help assemble an A-list
roster of cancer surgeon-scientists.
BY WAYNE NIEMI
s co-owner and president of the Los Angeles Lakers,
Jeanie Buss knows how to build a winning team.
Now, she’s taking on cancer by establishing the
Dr. Jerry H. Buss Surgical Oncology Fellowship.
Founded in memory of her late father,
Buss says the fellowship brings together
her father’s various interests and passions.
(See page 24 for more on the fellowship dedication.) “It
really matches what was important to him,” she says. “My
father had a PhD in physical chemistry. He believed in the
research community. This fellowship is a legacy that will
continue to provide for the future.”
The inaugural fellow, Jenny Hong, MD, will work under
Surgical Oncology Fellowship Co-directors Armando E.
Giuliano, MD, executive vice chair of Surgery for Surgical
Oncology, and the Linda and Jim Lippman Chair in Surgical
Oncology; and Allan W. Silberman, MD, PhD, clinical
chief of Surgical Oncology, and the
Robert J. and Suzanne Gottlieb Chair
in Surgical Oncology. Buss says her
family has a special connection
to Dr. Silberman, since he treated
both her father and her mother,
JoAnn, who is a cancer survivor.
“Dr. Silberman has a
real understanding of the
pieces that need to be
put together to get the
entire picture of what
happens with cancer,”
she says. “I think if we get
behind great minds, great
things will happen. My dad
taught me to always value and
support outstanding talent, and Dr.
Silberman is an outstanding talent.”
Buss says her competitive nature
18
CATALYST FALL 2015
and her drive to help sports teams and players reach
their potential apply to her approach to philanthropy.
The key, she says, is building a team that works in
harmony. “Philanthropy, to me, is about addressing the
needs of a community, and you can only be successful
when everyone is thriving,” she says. “That’s exactly the
environment you need for a winning team. Everybody has
to play a part. Everybody has to pull together in the same
direction. If you can do that, you can accomplish a lot.”
Of course, cancer research is a unique endeavor —
one that requires skill, timing and perseverance — all
things Buss says her father taught her about gambling.
As a high-stakes player who finished third in the 1991
World Series of Poker, Jerry Buss knew the rewards of a
well-timed risk.
“Gambling is all about pacing and stamina,” says his
daughter. “What he taught me is that the keys are to be
patient and wait until you have the right cards. When
you do, you have to go full throttle. A lot of people
equate my dad with being a gambler, but he was really
a very calculated risk taker. He wasn’t a guy
who just walked up to a roulette table and
put everything on one number. He was a
man of science.”
Buss says she wishes everyone could
have known her father — his sense of
humor, his intellect, the great love he
had for the city of Los Angeles
and how he tried to use the
Lakers organization to unite the
city’s diverse communities.
“That’s why he bought
the Lakers and built the
team,” Buss says. “He knew
that sports could connect
this community. He wanted
people to be proud and feel
connected to one another.
Even though he wasn’t born
in Los Angeles, he really felt
this was his home. He also
believed in Cedars-Sinai.”
Jeanie Buss with her late father and former
Los Angeles Lakers owner, Dr. Jerry H. Buss
BEFORE A BREAKTHROUGH STARTS
IN OUR RESEARCH LABS
IT FIRST STARTS HERE.
With hundreds of active research projects going on, it’s the
everyday gift that helps fuel our most important medical
advancements. Caring people, just like you, contributing
to our research team in a vital way that could advance new
treatments and technologies to help change lives. That’s
because at Cedars-Sinai, every breakthrough begins with
you. Learn more about how you can make a gift that is the
start of something great at giving.cedars–sinai.edu.
GERIE MILLER CRAWFORD, CEDARS-SINAI PHILANTHROPIST
GIVING.CEDARS-SINAI.EDU
DONOR
NEWS
Breathing Easy
W
arren Nelson had pretty much given
up hope for a lung transplant. Four
years earlier, he had been diagnosed
with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Given his
age and declining health, he was taken off the
transplant waiting list at a hospital near his
Northern California home.
“I picked out my coffin,” says the retired
financial adviser, two-tour Vietnam veteran and
former mayor of Yountville, Calif. “Then, my
best friend, Eric Engleman, a retired surgeon
and urologist, told me to call Cedars-Sinai.”
Nelson soon met with George Chaux, MD,
medical director of the Lung Transplant Program,
Comprehensive Transplant Center and Division of
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Women’s
Guild Lung Institute. He filled out paperwork,
underwent numerous tests, was placed on the
active lung transplant list and waited.
Then, on Oct. 13, 2014, he received the call that
would change his life — a match had been found.
“I was in the car, with Eric driving, when I got
the news. We were whooping and hollering,”
Warren and Maritza Nelson
he says. “The road near Grapevine, where we
got the news, is a hallowed place for us.”
Nelson is now healthy and back to his life,
traveling to New Zealand and enjoying his time
on the water in his speedboat.
As an expression of thanks, Nelson and his
wife, Maritza, make monthly gifts to the lung
transplant program, earmarked for patients who
require financial assistance for aftercare, under the
direction of Dr. Chaux. The gifts are made in the
name of Maritza’s parents, Moritz and Mila Pick.
“We loved them dearly,” says Nelson.
“They were two of the most adorable, loving,
hardworking immigrants that America should
be proud to have received. We miss them both
very much.”
From the Heart
For more than 25 years, Diane and Guilford Glazer have supported the research of
Daniel Berman, MD, chief of Cardiac Imaging and Nuclear Cardiology at the Cedars-Sinai
Heart Institute and the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center. Prior to his passing,
Guilford and his wife, Diane, decided to take their support a step further, with a major
gift to the newly established Diane and Guilford Glazer Cardiac Imaging Research
Fund. Diane Pregerson Glazer lauds Dr. Berman’s continued innovation in heart disease
research. “Dr. Berman has played a critical role in combining medicine and technology in
addressing heart disease,” she says. “My late husband, Guilford Glazer, and I wanted to
acknowledge the high regard that we hold for Cedars-Sinai and, particularly, the work of
Dr. Berman, by making a significant gift toward his research.”
20
CATALYST FALL 2015
Global Crusade
The Avon Foundation for Women enables breast
cancer specialists to train at Cedars-Sinai as part of
its Global Scholars program.
T
By Jeremy Deutchman
or early detection programs, and they experience critical
shortages in trained breast cancer specialists and services,”
Ricci says. “By training Avon Global Scholars at institutions
like Cedars-Sinai, we believe we will dramatically
accelerate the development and application of new ideas
and innovations in the treatment of breast cancer.”
Innovation has been at the forefront of the Avon
Foundation’s mission since its establishment in 1955.
The foundation aims to promote and assist charitable,
scientific, educational and humanitarian activities, with
a special emphasis on efforts that improve the lives of
women and their families.
The Global Scholars Program is just the latest
partnership between the Avon Foundation and CedarsSinai. Since 2012, the Avon Foundation has supported
scientists at the medical center with three projects aimed
at detecting and treating breast cancer.
Based at Cedars-Sinai’s Samuel Oschin Comprehensive
Cancer Institute, the projects include investigation into
a critical regulator of the BRCA1 breast cancer gene
mutation, an analysis of large oncosomes (biomarkers of
tumor progression) in breast tumor tissues and a look
at the role played by the SOX11 gene in triple-negative,
basal-like breast cancer. Ricci notes that Cedars-Sinai
he Avon Foundation for Women is strengthening
its commitment to finding new ways to diagnose
and treat breast cancer with its Breast Cancer
Clinical Global Scholars program. Founded in 2012, the
program allows breast cancer specialists from around
the world to study at leading breast cancer centers in the
United States. In 2016, two of the global scholars will
take up residence at Cedars-Sinai.
The yet-to-be-announced scholars will participate in
four weeks of intensive training and mentoring in breast
cancer surgery, pathology, breast imaging (radiology),
medical oncology, clinical trial design, and community and
public health. They’ll study under the tutelage of Armando
E. Giuliano, MD, the medical center’s executive vice chair of
Surgery for Surgical Oncology, associate director of Surgical
Oncology at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer
Institute, and co-director of the Saul and Joyce Brandman
Breast Center–A Project of Women’s Guild. Dr. Giuliano is
also the Linda and Jim Lippman Chair in Surgical Oncology.
After completing the course, the
scholars will take crucial skills back
By training Avon Global Scholars at
to their home countries to advance the
institutions like Cedars-Sinai, we believe we
fight against breast cancer.
will dramatically accelerate the development
“The first two classes of Avon Global
and application of new ideas and innovations
Scholars brought 47 physicians from 22
in the treatment of breast cancer.
countries to the U.S. to receive intensive — carolyn ricci
training to improve the treatment and
research scientists Xiaojiang Cui, PhD,
care of breast cancer patients worldwide,” says Carolyn
and Dolores Di Vizio, MD, PhD, have
Ricci, program director of the Avon Foundation Breast
added valuable knowledge to the
Cancer Crusade. “They now have the most advanced
breast cancer field.
tools and knowledge to help save [countless] lives.”
“All three Avon-funded
Previous scholars in the program have hailed from
projects hope to develop
Bolivia, Bulgaria, China, Nigeria and the Philippines.
new treatments or diagnostic
Representing a similarly diverse range of nations,
markers for breast cancer and
members of the upcoming class will be positioned to
are perfectly aligned with our
play a transformative role in boosting the quality of care
mission to improve
in their home countries.
outcomes for breast cancer
“Many developing countries experience lower survival
patients,” Ricci adds.
rates because they don’t have breast cancer awareness
Carolyn Ricci
“
”
THE CAMPAIGN FOR
Cedars-Sinai’s
$600 million
campaign
to support
groundbreaking
research is the
most ambitious —
and vital —
fundraising
endeavor in the
history of the
medical center.
22
CATALYST FALL 2015
C
EDARS-SINAI HAS NEVER
BEEN ABOUT SMALL IDEAS.
Thinking big, being
bold and leading the field
of medicine have all characterized a
medical team that continually pushes the
boundaries of lifesaving research.
Now, the medical center has set out to
achieve its most ambitious philanthropic
effort to date with the Campaign for
Cedars-Sinai. The campaign, which runs
through June 2018, will raise $600 million
to sustain and grow the institution’s
longstanding tradition of providing highquality care and leading-edge research.
At Cedars-Sinai, hundreds of projects
are currently exploring new treatment
possibilities in cancer, regenerative
medicine, disease prevention, aging, and
diseases of the heart and brain. It’s a
comprehensive approach that is helping
advance the understanding of disease
and forge new frontiers in medicine.
While teams of investigators seek out
new treatments and cures on a daily
basis in their labs, they don’t do it alone.
Some members of the team may never
step across the threshold of the lab. They
are the donors who fund the vital work
of doctors and scientists. It’s their vision
and generosity that may one day end
disease, ease suffering and change the way
physicians address illness.
As an independent, freestanding academic
medical center, Cedars-Sinai relies on
grateful patients, community members
and supporters to help fund the lifesaving
research that has made the institution a
world-recognized leader in patient care
and medical innovation. It’s through
philanthropic support that the medical center
has been able to develop new treatments
and technologies that will help change lives
in Los Angeles and around the globe.
CEDARS-SINAI
CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW
The Campaign for Cedars-Sinai is built upon growing interdisciplinary
collaboration and innovation that allows for the cross-pollination of ideas,
taking investigators into areas they had never before imagined. The medical center
has identified five key strategic areas to help maximize the impact of its efforts.
DISEASE
PREVENTION
AND CONTROL
The healthcare pioneers at CedarsSinai are dedicated to pursuing
research and advancing new
treatments and technologies to
save lives, educate patients and
cultivate healthy habits. Key areas
of focus for funding within the
campaign include advanced heart
failure, diabetes and obesity, and
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
PRECISION
MEDICINE AND
TARGETED
THERAPIES
Matching the right patient with
the right treatment — at the right
dose given at the right time — can
transform healthcare, and CedarsSinai is leading the way with
precision medicine. Patients at the
medical center have more options
than ever before, and now, through
individualized assessment and care,
they are more likely to experience
better outcomes. Philanthropic
support will allow Cedars-Sinai’s
healthcare teams to further advance
the promising young science of
personalized medicine.
AGING AND
LONGEVITY
Patients over 65 often have
one or more serious health
problems, such as cancer, diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s
disease and osteoporosis. The
medical center has a vision of
a future in which older people
enjoy health and independence,
remain physically active and
sustain long-term contributions to
their families and communities.
As the population ages, targeting
the needs of this demographic
has never been more urgent.
The support received will fund
promising new research into
groundbreaking areas of medicine.
INNOVATIONS IN
HEALTHCARE AND
TECHNOLOGY
The changing healthcare landscape
calls for new approaches to
treatment, diagnosis and research.
With this in mind, institutionwide measures have been
established that foster innovation
across medical specialties that
include regenerative medicine,
neurosurgery, biomedical
imaging and leading-edge cancer
treatments. For example, the
OR 360 project has developed a
high-tech operating room of the
future that allows investigators
to explore new surgical
techniques in many specialties.
The campaign will fund
pioneering programs currently
underway as well as proposed
initiatives that push the
boundaries of discovery.
EDUCATION
AND TRAINING
Cedars-Sinai is among the
nation’s few freestanding
academic medical centers that
provide training for medical
students, residents and postresidency fellows. More than
400 residents and fellows are
being trained in more than
35 accredited programs.
Scientists in the PhD program
are trained in the field of
translational research. Funding
for education is essential to
providing outstanding patient care
using the most current medical
discoveries.
CATALYST FALL 2015
23
events
Buss Surgical Oncology Fellow
Jenny J. Hong, MD, has been named the inaugural holder of
the Dr. Jerry H. Buss Surgical Oncology Fellowship. Jeanie
Buss, president of the Los Angeles Lakers, endowed the
fellowship in memory of her father, the late owner of the
Lakers, the Los Angeles Kings and the Los Angeles Sparks.
The fellowship is co-chaired by and established in honor
of Buss family physician and friend Allan W. Silberman,
MD, PhD — clinical chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology
and the Robert J. and Suzanne Gottlieb Chair in Surgical
Oncology — and Armando E. Giuliano, MD, executive vice
chair of Surgery for Surgical Oncology and the Linda and Jim
Lippman Chair in Surgical Oncology. It provides mentoring
in an immersive environment, giving fellows the skills to
build future innovations in cancer treatment and care.
1 Jeanie Buss, who established the fellowship in
memory of her father
2 Dr. Jenny J. Hong, the inaugural holder of the Dr. Jerry
H. Buss Surgical Oncology Fellowship
3 Arthur J. Ochoa, Cedars-Sinai’s senior vice president
for Community Relations and Development; Dr.
Allan W. Silberman; Vera Guerin, chair of the CedarsSinai Board of Directors; Jeanie Buss; and Dr. Bruce
Gewertz, chair of the Department of Surgery and the
H & S Nichols Distinguished Chair in Surgery
1
3
F. Widjaja Family Chair in Digestive Diseases
In April, interventional gastroenterologist Simon K. Lo, MD,
was appointed the inaugural holder of the F. Widjaja Family
Chair in Digestive Diseases, established by Inge and Franky
O. Widjaja. Dr. Lo is director of Cedars-Sinai’s Pancreatic
and Biliary Diseases Program and of GI Endoscopy.
The Widjajas’ first gift to Cedars-Sinai provided
significant support for the work of Stephan R. Targan,
MD, director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center,
director of the F. Widjaja Foundation Inflammatory Bowel
and Immunobiology Research Institute, and the Feintech
Family Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. They
continue to support programs at Cedars-Sinai and the
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center.
4 Dr. Shlomo Melmed, senior vice president for Academic
Affairs, dean of the Medical Faculty and the Helene A.
and Philip E. Hixon Distinguished Chair in Investigative
Medicine; Inge Widjaja; Dr. Simon K. Lo, the inaugural
F. Widjaja Family Chair in Digestive Diseases; Vera
Guerin, chair of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Directors; and
Thomas M. Priselac, Cedars-Sinai president and CEO
24
CATALYST FALL 2015
4
2
Dancing for NED
The third annual Dancing for NED gala honored Elyse
Walker, founder of the Pink Party®, for her philanthropic
dedication to ending the threat of ovarian cancer. The
event raised more than $200,000 for the Cedars-Sinai
Women’s Cancer Program and the pioneering work of its
director, Beth Y. Karlan, MD — the Board of Governors
Chair in Gynecologic Oncology — in improving ovarian
cancer research and treatment.
Writer-producers Dana Baratta and Melissa Rosenberg
founded Dancing for NED and again served as event chairs.
Actor Mark Valley reprised his role as emcee, welcoming
the more than 300 guests who were treated to special
performances by former So You Think You Can Dance
contestants and renowned professional dancers before
taking to the dance floor themselves. DJ Rebecca Hughes
selected the music. Actress Marcia Cross presented
Walker with the Visionary Award.
“NED” stands for “No Evidence of Disease,” which is what
every woman with ovarian cancer hopes for. When found
early enough, ovarian cancer is easily treatable but often
goes undetected until it spreads. There is no known cure for
ovarian cancer, but many women who have been diagnosed
with it are able to achieve NED status.
1
2
4
6
3
1 Dr. Beth Karlan; Dancing for NED co-founder Dana Baratta;
honoree Elyse Walker; award presenter Marcia Cross;
and Dancing for NED co-founder Melissa Rosenberg
2 Host Mark Valley
3 Actress Danica McKellar and her husband, attorney
Scott Sveslosky
4 Part of the evening’s entertainment
5 Musician Paul Freeman entertaining during the VIP hour
6 Linda Lippman with Elyse Walker
7 Actress and presenter Marcia Cross
5
7
CATALYST FALL 2015
25
events
Walter and Shirley Wang Chair in Pediatric Surgery
Andrew L. Freedman, MD, has been named the Walter and
Shirley Wang Chair in Pediatric Surgery at Cedars-Sinai.
Dr. Freedman serves as vice chair of Pediatric Surgical
Services and director of Pediatric Urology at the medical
center. He is an expert on minimally invasive surgical
techniques for treating pediatric urological disorders. His
research focuses on fetal urology, including detection,
diagnosis and treatment of genitourinary abnormalities
before a child is born.
1 Dr. Andrew Freedman; Thomas M. Priselac, CedarsSinai president and CEO; Shirley Wang; Vera Guerin,
chair of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Directors; and
Walter Wang
1
Steven D. Broidy Chair in Movement Disorders
Michele Tagliati, MD, director of the Movement Disorders
Program in the Cedars-Sinai Department of Neurology, has
been named the inaugural holder of the Steven D. Broidy Chair
in Movement Disorders. Dr. Tagliati is an expert in the diagnosis
and treatment of Parkinson’s disease, tremor and dystonia;
one of the world’s pioneers in deep brain stimulation; and
an authority on the use of botulinum toxin (Botox) injection
therapy in the control of involuntary muscle contractions.
Steven Broidy served as chair of the Cedars-Sinai Board
of Directors from 1998–2001 and was chair and CEO of the
Weingart Foundation from 1999–2003. He was honored for
his years of dedicated service at the Cedars-Sinai Board of
Governors gala in 2010.
2 Arthur J. Ochoa, Cedars-Sinai’s senior vice president
for Community Relations and Development; Thomas
M. Priselac, Cedars-Sinai president and CEO;
Dr. Michele Tagliati; Vera Guerin, chair of the CedarsSinai Board of Directors; and Steven D. Broidy
3 Dr. Richard Lewis, director of the Electromyography
Laboratory; Dr. Patrick Lyden, chair of the Department
of Neurology and the Carmen and Louis Warschaw
Chair in Neurology; Dr. Adam Mamelak, co-director
of the Pituitary Center and director of the Functional
Neurosurgery Program; Dr. Michele Tagliati; Dr. Nancy
Sicotte, director of the Neurology Residency Program and
director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program; and Dr. Keith L.
Black, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, director
of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, and the
Ruth and Lawrence Harvey Chair in Neuroscience
26
CATALYST FALL 2015
2
3
Polak Foundation Stem Cell Core Laboratory
A special reception honoring David and Janet Polak and
their family was held in May to celebrate the naming of
the David and Janet Polak Foundation Stem Cell Core
Laboratory, part of the Board of Governors Regenerative
Medicine Institute (RMI) at Cedars-Sinai. The Polaks
are lead campaign donors to the RMI, where scientists
are accelerating discoveries with the power to decipher
and potentially cure neurological diseases and other
debilitating illnesses that affect the entire human body.
The David and Janet Polak Foundation Stem Cell Core
Laboratory is housed within the medical center’s Advanced
Health Sciences Pavilion, which opened in summer 2013.
1 David and Janet Polak, Lauren and Jeff Polak, and
Ethan and Alexa Polak cut the ribbon for the opening
of the David and Janet Polak Foundation Stem Cell
Core Laboratory
2 Arthur J. Ochoa, Cedars-Sinai’s senior vice president
for Community Relations and Development; Vera
Guerin, chair of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Directors;
Janet and David Polak; Ruth Dunn, chair of the Board
of Governors; and Dr. Clive Svendsen, director of the
Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute
and the Kerry and Simone Vickar Family Foundation
Distinguished Chair in Regenerative Medicine
3 Janet and David Polak discussing their inspiration for
supporting Cedars-Sinai and the Board of Governors RMI
4 Dr. Shlomo Melmed, senior vice president for
Academic Affairs, dean of the Medical Faculty and the
Helene A. and Philip E. Hixon Distinguished Chair in
Investigative Medicine
5 Dr. Clive Svendsen leading a tour of the laboratory
6 Plaque recognizing the David and Janet Polak
Foundation Stem Cell Core Laboratory
1
2
3
5
4
6
CATALYST FALL 2015
27
What: 17th Annual Board of
Governors Healthcare College
Who: The keynote presentation
centered around the documentary
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, which
chronicles the legendary country
musician’s “Goodbye Tour” after
learning about his Alzheimer’s
diagnosis. The film’s director and
producer, James Keach, described his
experience working on the film. He
was joined by Cedars-Sinai attending
neurologist Hart Cohen, MD, and
Dean Sherzai, MD, PhD, director of
the Cedars-Sinai Alzheimer’s Disease
Prevention Program, who discussed
the impact of this devastating disease.
With a theme of “Discover a
Better You,” numerous breakout
sessions featured enlightening
presentations ranging from the
future of wearable health technology
to how stem cells can improve
irritable bowel syndrome. Attendees
also enjoyed a tour of the Board of
Governors Regenerative Medicine
Institute. The event was chaired by
Bruce Hoffman and Nancy Lushing.
Where: Harvey Morse Auditorium
Board of Governors
1
3
4
5
6
1
Dr. Dean Sherzai, director of the
Cedars-Sinai Alzheimer’s Disease
Prevention Program, James
Keach, producer and director of
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, Board of
Governors Chair Ruth Dunn and
Dr. Hart Cohen
2
Former Board of Governors Chairs
Steve Hitter and John Coleman
28
28
CATALYST
SPRING
CATALYST
FALL
2015
2014
2
3
Healthcare College Co-chairs Bruce
Hoffman and Nancy Lushing
4
Former Board of Governors Chair
Larry Powell and Joyce Powell
5
Sheri and Marc Rapaport
6
Sharon and Herb Glaser
7
Grazyna Simon, Dr. Ann GarberRimoin and Leslie Spivak
8
Harriet Nichols and Dr. Bruce
Gewertz, the H & S Nichols
Distinguished Chair in Surgery
7
8
What: Dine About Town
Who: Jackie Banchik, Eunice
David and Lorin Michaels served
as co-chairs for this year’s
annual celebration of food and
collaboration among like-minded
philanthropists.
Where: Various locations around
Los Angeles
1
About Us
3
2
4
1
Women’s Guild President Hella
Hershson, Rick and Debbie Jaffe
Powell, and John Bendheim
2
Jesse and Stacy Sharf, Lynne and
Stewart Brookman, and David
Maltzman
3
Ann and Bernd Givon, with Joan Seidel
4
Jerry Linkin and Lynn Klinenberg
Linkin, with Steven Yamshon
Established by the Cedars-Sinai
Board of Directors in 1971, the Board
of Governors’ mission is to support
the medical center’s foremost clinical
programs, biomedical research and
community outreach. The Board of
Governors’ current campaign is raising
$30 million for the Board of Governors
Regenerative Medicine Institute (RMI).
Led by Clive Svendsen, PhD, the Kerry
and Simone Vickar Family Foundation
Distinguished Chair in Regenerative
Medicine, RMI physicians and scientists
are pioneering new stem-cell-based
treatments for skeletal disorders and
diseases of the brain, eye, pancreas,
liver and blood.
CATALYST SPRING 2014
29
The Brain Trust
Doctor Disruptor
Thanks to the generous funding he receives from donors,
Dr. Keith L. Black is able to explore high-risk, high-reward
research opportunities.
BY WAYNE NIEMI T
hrough his curiosity, insight and refusal to accept conformist
thinking, neurosurgeon and scientist Keith L. Black, MD, is
changing the trajectory of neurosurgical research.
As chair of the Cedars-Sinai Department of Neurosurgery
and director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute,
Dr. Black is leveraging funds raised through donors such
as The Brain Trust to blaze new paths and disrupt
conventional ideas about brain research.
“We don’t want to do ‘me-too’ research,” says Dr. Black,
who also holds the Ruth and Lawrence Harvey Chair in
Neuroscience and is the director of the Johnnie L. Cochran Jr.
Brain Tumor Center. “We want to do disruptive research where, for
$5 million or $10 million, we can change the way the world views a
particular disorder and get enough other scientists enthused about
those findings so [the research community] says, ‘Now, we need to
spend enough money to develop this therapy.’”
For example, Dr. Black has found a promising way to detect
Alzheimer’s disease before its symptoms take hold and treatment
options become limited. “We felt that the real opportunity here
was being able to detect the disease early, before it had a chance
to cause havoc and damage the brain,” he says.
His idea was to peer through the eye at the retina to look for
signs of brain plaque — abnormal clusters of protein fragments
that build up between nerve cells and are strongly associated with
Alzheimer’s disease. The consensus among other neuroscientists held
that these plaques don’t exist in the eye. Still, Dr. Black forged ahead.
“We found them,” he says. “And that’s a paradigm shift. We now
have potentially the first noninvasive way of detecting the disease
years before a person becomes symptomatic. We’re in some of
the major clinical trials using this test.”
Dr. Black explains that applying for grants through the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) has become more difficult since, before
photo by max gerber
Campaign
(back row) Cedars-Sinai board member Dale Mason Cochran, Bettye Dixon,
Debra Johnson, Angelia Bibbs-Sanders and Gloria Mitchell; (front row) Riza
Aziz, Marva Smalls, Dr. Carol Bennett, Dr. Keith L. Black, Pauletta Washington
and Debra Lee
funding can be procured, researchers must
already be close to proving their hypotheses are
correct. That leads to play-it-safe research. “But
with donor-funded research, we can say, ‘Yes,
this is a high-risk project that might not pan out
but, if it does, it can have a big impact.’”
That impact is now being felt in other areas
of research as well. Dr. Black and his team are
exploring how to harness the body’s immune
system to reverse the early stages of Alzheimer’s
and Parkinson’s diseases. “We’ve found that both
Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease may
share a similar characteristic with diabetes, in
that brain cells become resistant to insulin,” he
says. “When we reverse this insulin resistance,
we can stop brain cell damage.”
Dr. Black is also working to reprogram the
immune system to attack brain tumors with a
vaccine — something many of his colleagues once
found far-fetched. “When we started, no one believed
that vaccines could work for the brain,” he says. “Now,
it’s the most exciting area in cancer research. Our
Phase II results were very promising. Technology
that came out of our laboratory here at CedarsSinai has now gone into a Phase III national clinical
trial using a vaccine to treat patients [afflicted]
with the most aggressive form of brain cancer.”
To help deliver therapeutic cancer drugs more
effectively, Dr. Black is conducting laboratory
studies to determine how nanomedicine technology
might deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to the
tumor site and more effectively battle the cancer
with limited toxicity. “We’re very excited about
this program, and it just received NIH funding,”
he says.
In the surgical realm, Dr. Black is developing
investigational techniques to remove tumors that
could have widespread uses beyond neurosurgery.
“We’re using an optical probe to shine a light onto
the brain when we do surgery,” he says. “We can
look at the color of the light and with very high
accuracy — greater than 95 percent — see if
we’ve removed the whole tumor. We plan to test
this technology with our breast cancer surgery
colleagues and we want to see if we can use this
technology to detect skin cancer and melanoma.”
As he conducts research that could alter the
fundamental understanding of brain disease,
Dr. Black humbly points to The Brain Trust and
other supporters as being critical to the process.
“We can only do our research because we have
donors and supporters that say, ‘Okay, we don’t
know much about what Dr. Black’s team is doing,
but we believe in him.’”
For Brain Trust Executive Member Gloria
Mitchell, Dr. Black’s research has the potential to
not only heal the patient, but also the families
and friends of a suffering individual. “We have all
been personally touched by someone diagnosed
with a brain disorder or disease,” she says. “It is
devastating not only to the patient, but also to
their loved ones. That is why we remain committed
to the journey that Dr. Black has embarked upon.
Ultimately, we want to be part of a cure.”
The Brain Trust Campaign for the
Brain seeks funding to expand
Dr. Black’s work — furthering
Cedars-Sinai’s commitment to
boundary-breaking research.
With philanthropic support,
Dr. Black and his expert team will
continue to find a bold new frontier
in the prevention and treatment of
disorders of the brain and central
nervous system, including pediatric
and adult brain tumors, Alzheimer’s
disease, Parkinson’s disease,
brain trauma, spinal deformities,
epilepsy, stroke, pituitary tumors,
aneurysm, ALS and more.
About Us
Formed in 1998, The Brain Trust is a
dynamic group comprising executive
members — Carol Bennett, MD,
Angelia Bibbs-Sanders, Dale Mason
Cochran, Bettye Dixon, Debra Lee,
Gloria Mitchell, Marva Smalls and
Pauletta Washington — and advisory
members Riza Aziz, chair of Campaign
for the Brain, Debra Johnson, Rickey
Minor, Denzel Washington and Stevie
Wonder. They volunteer their efforts to
raise funds to support the work of Keith
L. Black, MD — chair of the Department
of Neurosurgery, director of the Maxine
Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, and
the Ruth and Lawrence Harvey Chair
in Neuroscience — and his team as
they seek to treat and cure diseases of
the brain and central nervous system.
Among its many achievements, The
Brain Trust spearheaded creation of
the Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Brain Tumor Center in 2007.
CATALYST FALL 2015
31
1
What: The Fashion Industries Guild’s
Movie Night at the Orpheum Theatre
Who: The Fashion Industries Guild of
Cedars-Sinai held a special screening of
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the
Desert, with attendees encouraged to
dress in their favorite Priscilla attire. The
evening kicked off with a VIP cocktail
hour to put guests in a festive mood to
fully appreciate this 1994 cult classic.
Attendees heard a presentation by
Charles Simmons Jr., MD, chairman
of the Cedars-Sinai Department of
Pediatrics, director of the Division of
Neonatology, and the Ruth and Harry
Roman Chair of Neonatology in honor of
Larry Baum. Guests also enjoyed movie
concessions and a performance on the
Orpheum’s vintage Wurlitzer, the last of
the original theater organs on Broadway
and one of only three remaining in
Southern California theaters.
Where: Orpheum Theatre
32
5
CATALYST SUMMER 2015
The Fashion Industries
2
3
1
The Orpheum Theatre marquee
2
Fashion Industries Guild Executive
Board members Joey Brooks,
Eileen Ellis, Steve Marienhoff,
Diana Marienhoff and President
Jessica Lewensztain
3
Dr. Tyler Pierson and Dr. Charles
Simmons Jr., chairman of the
Cedars-Sinai Department of
Pediatrics, director of the Division
of Neonatology, and the Ruth
and Harry Roman Chair of
Neonatology in honor of Larry Baum
4
Guests enjoying concession stand
candy
5
The Orpheum’s Wurlitzer organ
6
Board members Ann Davis and
Maryann Alpert 7
Past Fashion Industries Guild
honorees Kathy and Jay Mangel
6
4
8
Scott McIntosh, Dr. Ruchira Garg,
Jane Zahn and Dr. Evan Zahn,
co-director of the Guerin Family
Congenital Heart Program and
director of Pediatric Cardiology
9
Dr. Alistair Phillips, co-director of
the Guerin Family Congenital Heart
Program at the Cedars-Sinai Heart
Institute and chief of the Division
of Congenital Heart Surgery, with
his wife, Dr. Pamela Phillips
10 Guests enjoying the cocktail hour
and getting ready for the movie
Arthur J. Ochoa, Cedars-Sinai
senior vice president for Community
Relations and Development;
Jessica Lewensztain; and Dr. Charles Simmons Jr.
Committee members Jason
Feurstein, Rachel Waranch, Joey
Brooks and Thomas Zambeck
8
9
s Guild
6
About Us
Since 1956, the Fashion Industries
Guild has raised more than $23 million to fund special
pediatric programs and facilities
at Cedars-Sinai, including
the Fashion Industries Guild
Congenital Heart Laboratory
and the Hal Kaltman Fashion
Industries Guild Congenital Heart Research Endowment. This support helps address the
most common type of birth
defects nationwide, affecting
nearly 1 percent of U.S. births
each year. Medical advances have
dramatically prolonged survival
for children with congenital
heart defects, and the medical
center’s Pediatrics Department
and Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute
are working to improve outcomes
even further, into adulthood.
Fashion Industries Guild support
is helping advance the study of
congenital heart disease and the
development of more minimally
invasive treatments for patients of
all ages. Group members include
manufacturers, buying offices,
sales reps, publicists and other
apparel and retail professionals.
7
8
9
2
CATALYST FALL 2015
33
What: The Heart Foundation Steven
S. Cohen Endowed Fellowship in
Atherosclerosis Research
Who: Nearly 70 guests attended a
dedication luncheon honoring The
Heart Foundation for establishing the
Steven S. Cohen Endowed Fellowship
in Atherosclerosis Research, held by
Xiaoning Zhao, PhD, project research
scientist in the laboratory of Prediman
K. (P.K.) Shah, MD, director of the
Oppenheimer Atherosclerosis Research
Center and the Atherosclerosis Prevention
and Treatment Center, and the Shapell
and Webb Family Chair in Clinical
Cardiology. Senior Vice President for
Academic Affairs and Dean of the
Medical Faculty Shlomo Melmed, MD,
presented awards to Dr. Zhao and Dr. Shah.
Dr. Melmed, who is also the Helene A.
and Philip E. Hixon Distinguished Chair in
Investigative Medicine, then presented The
Heart Foundation Chairman Mark Litman
with the Double Helix Award, representing
how complementary elements intertwine
to advance the future of medicine.
“Over the past two decades, The
Heart Foundation has supported research
that has helped the medical community
better understand the causes of heart
disease at a genetic and molecular level,
enabling us to detect heart disease
sooner and develop new preventive and
therapeutic strategies,” said Litman. “As
we celebrate The Heart Foundation’s 20th
anniversary and the future of cardiology
led by talented physicians and scientists
like Drs. Shah and Zhao, we must also
remind ourselves of how and why all of
this was started,” he added, referring
to his friend Steven S. Cohen, who died
at 35 of an unexpected heart attack,
leaving behind a wife and two daughters.
Where: Advanced Health Sciences
Pavilion Education Center
34
CATALYST FALL 2015
The Heart Foundation
1
About Us
2
1
Dr. P.K. Shah, director of the
Oppenheimer Atherosclerosis
Research Center, and The
Heart Foundation Chairman
Mark Litman congratulate
inaugural Steven S. Cohen
Fellow Dr. Xiaoning Zhao
2
Mark Litman, Jerry Cohen and
David Foster
Dedicated in loving memory
of Steven S. Cohen, The Heart
Foundation supports the
groundbreaking research of
world-renowned cardiologist
P.K. Shah, MD, director of the
Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute’s
Oppenheimer Atherosclerosis
Research Center and
Atherosclerosis Prevention and
Treatment Center and the Shapell and Webb Family Chair
in Clinical Cardiology. He is
also director of the Steven S.
Cohen Endowed Fellowship in
Atherosclerosis Research. Dr.
Shah is best known for his work
to develop a mutant-gene-based
therapy for reversing arterial
plaque and for his research
on a possible vaccine against
atherosclerosis. The Heart
Foundation’s mission is to save
lives by educating the public
about heart disease, promoting
early detection and supporting
research to find more effective
ways to prevent and treat the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S.
n
Q&A With Fellow Xiaoning Zhao, PhD
T
he Heart Foundation’s new fellow,
Xiaoning Zhao, PhD, believes that
an unconventional approach to
treating atherosclerosis may soon be
at hand, thanks to The Heart Foundation’s
support. Working under world-renowned
cardiologist Prediman K. (P.K.) Shah, MD,
Dr. Zhao is part of a Heart Institute team
developing an immune-modulatory vaccine
that has the potential to significantly lower
the risk of heart disease.
Dr. Zhao’s career has been dedicated to
immunology and vaccine development,
including work to formulate a DNA vaccine
against the hepatitis C virus. The Chineseborn research scientist arrived in the U.S. in
2000 and joined Dr. Shah’s team at Cedars-Sinai
as a postdoctoral researcher in the Division of
Cardiology. In 2004, she was promoted to
project research scientist.
Here, she provides insight into what drives
her and why there is no such thing as a typical
day in the lab.
What does it mean to you to be named
a fellow by The Heart Foundation?
I am honored. For me, it’s an affirmation of the
dedication and hard work of, not only myself, but of
all of us involved in research. It is also humbling, of
course, because the work we pursue is accomplished
by a team of individuals with outstanding talent
and effort. I feel that I share this honor with them.
What research are you doing right now?
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of
death globally. Lipid-lowering therapy has been a
very successful strategy in combating the disease,
but the cumulative data suggest it’s not enough.
Based on what we know about the disease, we
need additional treatment avenues. Led by Dr.
Shah, our team has been working on developing
a vaccine against atherosclerosis, and this could
represent a novel approach to the prevention and
treatment of cardiovascular disease. Studies on
photo by angela graves
animal models have shown promising results, and
we believe the time for clinical testing of the first
atherosclerosis vaccine is rapidly approaching.
What is a typical day in the lab?
One thing about experimental research that is
truly exciting is that we expect the unexpected.
We test our hypothesis and interpret the
outcome. Sometimes interpreting complex results
can be a bit frustrating, but that is part of the
challenge. There is no typical day. How do you deal with setbacks? I generally go through the process one step at a
time and try to figure out where things may have
gone off track. But the nature of our work has
disappointment inherent to it. We can’t escape
the fact that not everything will work. That is why
we need to do research. On the other hand, there
is no better teacher than a failed experiment.
What inspires you?
I have always been a curious person, so I’ll
say that knowing there is so much we don’t
know is what inspires me. Having worked in
cardiovascular research for a number of years,
I understand there is still a great deal of
knowledge to be revealed.
What do you like most about the lab
environment?
The camaraderie among the team members. We all
have our strengths and contribute individual talents
to function as a team. We share disappointments
and, of course, we share successes because we all
work hard to reach our common goal. What do you do to take care of your heart?
I take part in sports, including swimming. I try to
eat healthy food, which I enjoy preparing myself.
I also try to be optimistic.
CATALYST FALL 2015
35
What: The 86th Mother of the Year
Luncheon and Fashion Show
Who: Mother of the Year honors went
to Joyce Powell, her daughters, Linda
Blumenfeld and Nancy Eisenstadt,
and her daughter-in-law, Debbie Jaffe
Powell. Actress, filmmaker, author and
advocate for mothers worldwide, Ricki
Lake, was also recognized as Mother
of the Year. The honor acknowledges
dedication to the Los Angeles
community, including multifaceted
support of Cedars-Sinai. Bobbie
Handel received the Gold Hand
Award for exceptional service on the
organization’s board of directors and
to the Helping Hand Gift Shop. The
Edith Strauss Award for outstanding
gift shop volunteer was presented to
Lorraine Shapiro. Designer Mi Jong
Lee presented fashions from her
Emmelle label at the event. Singer,
actress and voice-over artist Lori Alan
served as host.
Where: The Beverly Hilton
The Helping Hand of
1
2
1
Bobbi Scherr, Nadine
Glauberman, Betty Jane Bruck
and Ellen Brooks (far right)
present a check for $500,000 to
Dr. Sarah Kilpatrick and Arthur
J. Ochoa, Cedars-Sinai’s senior
vice president for Community
Relations and Development.
4
36
CATALYST FALL 2015
3
2
Judy Savitsky and Cooky Gold
3
Co-chairs Bobbi Scherr, Nadine
Glauberman and Betty Jane Bruck
4
The fashion show featuring the
Emmelle collection, presented by
Melrose Alley
Los Angeles
6
5
About Us
7
8
9
5
Honorees Nancy Eisenstadt,
Joyce Powell, Linda Blumenfeld
and Debbie Jaffe Powell
6
Dr. Beth Y. Karlan, the Board of
Governors Chair in Gynecologic
Oncology, and Dr. Ilana Cass, vice
chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology
7
Gold Hand Award recipient
Bobbie Handel with Edith Strauss
Award recipient Lorraine Shapiro 8
Lawrence Powell and Annette
Shapiro
9
The Helping Hand of Los
Angeles Chair in Obstetrics and
Gynecology Dr. Sarah Kilpatrick,
honoree Ricki Lake and Helping
Hand President Ellen Brooks
10 Dottie Frieband, Betty Persion and
Rachel Russo
The Helping Hand of Los Angeles
is dedicated to supporting the
Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology at Cedars-Sinai.
Over the past 86 years, the
Helping Hand has raised more
than $23 million to further
research and raise awareness for
women’s and babies’ healthcare
issues. Thousands of members
have joined the group since
its inception, including those
volunteers who staff the Helping
Hand Gift Shop. Funds generated
through shop sales, membership
dues, tributes, baby photos, and
the annual Mother of the Year
Luncheon and Fashion Show
have been instrumental to the
establishment of programs
in family planning, oncology,
fertility, inflammatory bowel
disease and pregnancy, just to
name a few. The group endowed
the Miriam Jacobs Chair in
Maternal-Fetal Medicine (the
first chair at Cedars-Sinai,
held by Calvin J. Hobel, MD)
and the Helping Hand of Los
Angeles Chair in Obstetrics and
Gynecology, held by Sarah J.
Kilpatrick, MD, PhD, who chairs
the Department of Obstetrics
and Gynecology.
Sports Spectacular
1
1
Actor Nyambi Nyambi
2
Sports Spectacular Executive
Director Beth Moskowitz with
CNN and ESPN commentator LZ
Granderson
3
Hosts John Salley, Kevin Frazier and
Jim Hill
4
Former NBA star Robert Horry
greeting fans
5
Los Angeles Clipper Glen Davis
and Jasmin Jaye on the red carpet
6
DJ Skee with Visionary Award
recipient Larry Miller
7
Comedian Tommy Chong with
former NBA star Brian Scalabrine
8
John Salley taking a selfie with
Russell Westbrook
9
Presenter Joe Jonas
10 Robert Horry introducing FRIDAY5,
a new platform to support charitable
causes
Actors Miles Brown and Marcus
Scribner
Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy
Caldwell accepting the Inspirational
Moment of the Year Award
What: 30th Annual Sports
Spectacular Awards Gala and Auction
Who: Sportscaster and former NFL
player Jim Hill, commentator and
former NBA player John Salley,
and Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin
Frazier hosted the annual gala that
honors athletes and benefits the
Sports Spectacular Diabetes and
3
Obesity Wellness and Research
Center at Cedars-Sinai. Hill was
recognized for 30 years of service to
the organization. NBA player Russell
Westbrook was honored for his
charitable work. Former NHL player
Luc Robitaille accepted the Best Team
Award on behalf of the Los Angeles
Kings. Jordan Brand President Larry
Miller received the Visionary Award.
Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson
won for Inspirational Moment of the
Year after becoming the first to free
climb the Dawn Wall of Yosemite’s
El Capitan. Numerous athletes and
celebrities attended, including former
4
NBA player Jason Collins, former NFL
player Joe Haden and KIIS FM on-air
personality Ellen Kay. The evening’s
auction of sports memorabilia
included shoes from NBA greats
Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Where: Hyatt Regency Century City Plaza
5
2
6
7
9
8
7
9
2
1
2
What: The inaugural Celebrity
Basketball Spectacular
Who: Equinox presented the first
Celebrity Basketball Spectacular, hosted by Tyga and LA Gear, to
benefit the Sports Spectacular
Diabetes and Obesity Wellness and
Research Center at Cedars-Sinai.
Tyga and rapper The Game served
as team captains. Hitting the court
were NBA players Nick Young of the
Los Angeles Lakers, Glen Davis of
the Los Angeles Clippers and Matt
Barnes of the Memphis Grizzlies;
NFL players Nelson Agholor, Keenan
Allen and Leonard Williams; former
NBA players Cedric Ceballos and
Brian Scalabrine; former MLS player
Cobi Jones; former NFL player
Terrell Owens; actors Brett Davern,
Clark Gregg, Robbie Jones, Scott
Porter and Marcus Scribner; TV
hosts Steelo Brim and Sal Masekela;
entertainment journalist Ben Lyons;
and rappers Freddie Gibbs, Kid Ink
and Redfoo.
Where: Equinox Sports Club West LA
About Us
Sports Spectacular partners with
top athletes and world-class
health professionals to improve
everyday lives through research,
prevention and education. In May
2014, the group pledged $10
million to establish the Sports
Spectacular Diabetes and Obesity
Wellness and Research Center
at Cedars-Sinai. The initiative will
fund new medical research and
encourage healthy eating and
exercise. The center is headed by
Richard Bergman, PhD, the Alfred
Jay Firestein Chair in Diabetes
Research and an internationally
renowned expert in diabetes and
obesity research, with a worldclass multidisciplinary team
focused on finding ways to predict,
prevent, treat and cure diabetes,
obesity and associated conditions.
Since its founding in 1986,
revenue from Sports Spectacular’s
annual gala and the generosity
of supporters has helped raise
more than $25 million for CedarsSinai, enabling groundbreaking
research in genetics, creating a
fellowship program for five young
physician-scientists each year in
a variety of medical specialties,
and now fostering discoveries and
health advocacy with the Sports
Spectacular Diabetes and Obesity
Wellness and Research Center.
1
Former NFL player Terrell Owens
2
Rapper Freddie Gibbs goes in for
a dunk.
CATALYST FALL 2015
39
What: Women’s Guild’s Annual Luncheon
Who: Emmy-winning FOX 11 News
anchor Christine Devine emceed the
Women’s Guild Annual Luncheon,
where 600 guests enjoyed a fashion
show featuring Escada’s spring
2015 collection. Judy Sheindlin of
the Emmy-winning show Judge
Judy received the 2015 Woman
of the 21st Century Award, along
with two standing ovations for her
inspirational words. Women’s Guild’s
Executive Vice President Daniele
Worth Ochoa received the Evelyn
Clayburgh Award (the Evie), which
recognizes a member for outstanding
leadership, service and dedication.
President Hella Hershson presented
Arthur J. Ochoa, Cedars-Sinai’s
senior vice president for Community
Relations and Development, with a
$1 million check for the Women’s
Guild Simulation Center for Advanced
Clinical Skills. Organized by Chairs
Wendy Goldberg and Lorette Gross,
Co-chairs Pary Mosenifar and Valerie
Fitzgerald, and Standing Event Chairs
Gina Furth and Barbara Herman, the
event raised nearly $300,000 toward
Women’s Guild’s $10 million pledge to
the simulation center.
Where: Beverly Wilshire Hotel
1
Annual Luncheon Chairs Lorette
Gross and Wendy Goldberg,
Women’s Guild President Hella
Hershson, and Annual Luncheon
Co-chairs Pary Mosenifar and
Valerie Fitzgerald
2
Judge Judy Sheindlin, Woman of
the 21st Century Award recipient
3
Daniele Worth Ochoa and Arthur
J. Ochoa, Cedars-Sinai senior vice
president for Community Relations
and Development, and daughters
4
Escada model
40
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CATALYST
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CATALYST
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2015
2014
Women’s Guild
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2
3
5
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7
“We are a vital sisterhood of community-minded, caring
supporters of Cedars-Sinai, who are making a difference and
having a tremendous amount of fun doing it.”
—women’s guild president hella hershson
9
8
5
Barbara Herman, Cookie
Markowitz and Gina Furth
6
Sandy Post and Fay Mancuso
7
Shelley Cooper and Laurie Gray
8
Nicole Sheindlin, and Judy and
Jerry Sheindlin
9
Lynda Resnick
10 Florence Henderson
Beverly Firestein and Tricia Corby
Paul Guerin and Vera Guerin,
chair of the Cedars-Sinai Board of
Directors
Judge Judy Sheindlin and Wendy
Goldberg
14 Hella Hershson with Daniele
Worth Ochoa, Evie Award
recipient
About Us
3
2
Founded in 1957, Women’s Guild
has been a leader in providing
resources for a wide range of
programs at Cedars-Sinai. It
supports the pursuit of knowledge
and the development of diagnosis
and treatment methods that will
make a difference in the lives of
countless patients for generations
to come. To date, Women’s Guild
has raised more than $43 million
in support of Cedars-Sinai’s most
critical work. In 2013, Women’s
Guild announced a $10 million
pledge to establish the Women’s
Guild Simulation Center for
Advanced Clinical Skills at
Cedars-Sinai. In this facility, hightech human patient simulators
animated by next-generation
technology provide the ultimate
training environment for health
professionals from all specialties.
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CATALYST
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2015
41
41
volunteer services
Teen Scene
At the Women’s
Guild Simulation
Center for
Advanced Clinical
Skills, teenage
volunteers get as
much as they give.
BY JENNIFER CAROFANO
photography by scott witter
42
CATALYST FALL 2015
F
or young people considering a career in healthcare,
the opportunity to volunteer at a local hospital makes
good sense. For teens who get the chance to volunteer
at the Women’s Guild Simulation Center for Advanced Clinical
Skills at Cedars-Sinai, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime.
The simulation center offers a select group of teens the
chance to work side by side with doctors and residents in
mock medical situations that mirror the real thing. The center
houses seven training suites, including two operating rooms
and a trauma bay, each equipped with the latest medical
equipment and robotic “patients” that have the ability to blink,
bleed, breathe and even give birth.
“Victoria is the robot that gives birth,” says Sean Ghiam,
one of the first teens to volunteer at the center. “I’ve seen her
in labor, and it fascinates me. It’s just so realistic.” The 18-yearold, who volunteered at the center for the past two summers,
attends UCLA as a psychobiology major. “I want a career in
the medical field,” he says. “I’m still exploring which area
I want to specialize in, and that’s one of the reasons I love
coming to the simulation center. Every day a new department
comes in and I get to see every type of medical field before I
choose one to specialize in.”
CATALYST FALL 2015
43
volunteer services
T
he chance to work with doctors and simulated patients in realistic medical
situations is the most unique aspect of volunteering at the center, says Russell
Metcalfe-Smith, manager of the simulation center.
“Some incredible medical training takes place here, and those with the desire to enter
various health professions have the ability to learn alongside doctors and nurses from
within the organization,” he explains. “This approach provides teens with the ability to
learn techniques and skills that would normally be taught at university.” He adds that the
simulation center’s teen volunteers have had the chance to watch live surgical training
sessions, practice robotic surgery in the virtual surgical suite and act out roles as family
members in medical situations.
Playing an active part in a medical
scenario has proved an essential learning tool
for teen volunteer Anthony Enzo Seddio. Last
year, during his first summer as a volunteer,
the 17-year-old played the “son” in a medical
situation in which his “father” — one of the
robotic patients — went into diabetic shock.
“I was in the room with the residents when
they were treating him,” recalls Seddio. “I was
told to pester the residents and ask, ‘Are you
sure you know what you’re doing?’ Later, at
the debrief, I was asked what I thought.”
Seddio answered that he didn’t think he
should
have been in the room as a family
— BARBARA LEANSE, Cedars-Sinai’s director of Volunteer Services
member. The residents and doctors agreed.
“It led us to the discussion of how to get a
family member out of the intensive care room and how to politely deal with a family
member who is concerned,” says Seddio, who notes that, even as the youngest person in
the room, his opinion mattered. “In the simulation center, I feel like I’m part of a team.
The residents and physicians treat me with the utmost respect.”
According to Barbara Leanse, Cedars-Sinai’s director of Volunteer Services, the ability
to directly connect with and learn from medical professionals in the simulation center is a
huge boon for teen volunteers. “The exposure to medical practice stimulates the decision
of the teen who is really serious about a career in healthcare,” she says, noting that it takes
a special individual to make the most of the opportunity. “We look for teens who possess
maturity and curiosity — those who want to make a commitment to helping others and
who think they may want a career in healthcare.”
For Seddio, the experience has solidified his decision to become a physician. The
college freshman attends California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and
is majoring in exercise science with a minor in biology. “I want to be an orthopedic
surgeon,” says Seddio. “I’d even go so far as to say I want to be a part of Cedars-Sinai
one day.”
“The exposure to medical practice
stimulates the decision of the teen who is
really serious about a career in healthcare.
We look for teens who possesses maturity
and curiosity — those who want to make a
commitment to helping others and who
think they may want a career in healthcare.”
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CATALYST FALL 2015
Anthony Enzo Seddio
Sean Ghiam
17, college freshman
Hometown: Valencia, Calif.
Volunteer hours: 147
18, college freshman
Hometown: Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Volunteer hours: 270
What was your first volunteer experience
at Cedars-Sinai?
I started in ninth grade in the pre-operation section. From
there, I moved to orthopedics and then to the simulation
center, where I’ve volunteered for the past two summers.
What was your first volunteer experience
at Cedars-Sinai?
I started the summer prior to ninth grade as a volunteer
[distributing] magazines. That was my first experience going
into a patient’s room. Interacting with patients was completely
different than I expected but, once I got used to it, I became
more confident. Then I worked at several different nursing
stations before moving to the simulation center.
Why do you like to volunteer?
It sounds cliché, but I truly enjoy helping people, and
volunteering has always been a part of my life. My mom
pushed me to help others from a young age, so it’s
something I’ve learned to love and enjoy. I’ve worked in local
food pantries and at events for the Special Olympics.
What sparked your interest in medicine?
I was in a four-year sports medicine program at my high
school. I had the opportunity to be around orthopedic
surgeons and athletic trainers, and I accumulated more than
1,000 volunteer hours working with athletes on campus.
Why do you like to volunteer?
I want to give back to the community. Also, it feels so good
to help patients smile during hard times. I want to let them
know that there is always hope.
How has your experience at the simulation center
helped you outside the hospital?
I tutor kids from elementary school through high school in
math, science and history, so I’m very used to working with
people my own age. But, at the hospital, I work with older
people. Initially, I didn’t have as much confidence working
with adults, and I’d get kind of nervous. I got used to it and
now I feel I have better skills to interact with people.
CATALYST FALL 2015
45
in the community
More than
30,000
participated,
and Cedars-Sinai
increased most
services by
50%
compared to 2014.
A Roadmap to Health
F
or the past five years, Cedars-Sinai has played a major role in
Telemundo’s Health and Wellness Fair. The 11th annual Feria
de la Salud was presented by Telemundo 52-KVEA and The
California Endowment at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
For this year’s team of some 500 Cedars-Sinai employees, the event was
all about preventing health crises — helping individuals and families
who needed immediate attention and thousands at risk for heart disease,
diabetes and obesity, among other health problems.
Emergency triage
For anyone whose test results showed dangerously
high blood pressure, glucose levels or other serious
health issues, the professionals in the triage room
were prepared to provide immediate help.
ENTRADA
ENTRANCE
9,800
Cedars-Sinai’s team provided 9,800 health
screenings at the 11th annual health fair, La Feria
de la Salud: Prevenir es Vivir, on Jan. 25.
500
Approximately 500
Cedars-Sinai employees
participated in the health
fair, including physicians,
nurses, dietitians,
pharmacists, podiatrists,
educators, advanced
practice nurses, clinical
researchers and other
healthcare professionals.
46
CATALYST FALL 2015
Health screenings
At the largest and busiest area of the
health fair, visitors received screenings
for blood pressure, cholesterol,
glucose, podiatry needs, weight and
body mass index, and team members
provided seasonal flu immunizations
and pharmacy consultations.
5
Cedars-Sinai has
participated in the
Telemundo health fair
for the past five years.
COACH for Kids and Their Families®
A program of the Maxine Dunitz Children’s Health Center,
the COACH team provided immunizations, nutrition
counseling and dental education, and weighed and
measured children to identify those at risk for obesity.
Community
research
Cedars-Sinai researchers
handed out questionnaires
to learn more about the
health needs of the Latino
population. Research
areas included healthcare
access, nutrition,
cardiovascular health and
reproductive issues.
Breast cancer screenings
Offered by the Wasserman Breast Cancer Risk Reduction
Program: In four private rooms, breast surgeons and
nurses provided clinical exams, taught women to
perform self-exams and gave referrals for free
or low-cost follow-up care as needed. The
team also handed out vouchers for free
mammograms available just steps away
at the Watts Health Foundation’s
mammography van.
114
The Cedars-Sinai
Blood Donor Services
program collected
84 units of blood
during the health fair
and registered 114
new blood donors.
3,066
Education regarding
dental care, nutrition,
fitness and general
healthcare was
offered to 3,066
children and adults.
SALIDA
EXIT
Blood donations
The Cedars-Sinai Blood Donor Services program
participated at the health fair for the first time, providing
information to help people overcome fears about giving
blood and collecting blood from willing donors.
CATALYST FALL 2015
47
parting shot
Witness Protection
A
month after suffering an acute ischemic stroke, 67-year-old Thomas
Oleniacz made a full recovery, thanks to his physician, Shlee Song, MD,
an investigator with Cedars-Sinai’s MR WITNESS Phase IIa safety
study. With a fast-thinking staff and availability of the clinical trial at CedarsSinai, Oleniacz was quickly identified as a candidate for the program, which
studies the safety and use of diagnostic MRI to estimate stroke onset time
and single out subjects for clot-busting stroke treatment. The Cedars-Sinai
team was “able to stop the stroke in its tracks,” Oleniacz says.
photo by hans gutknecht
48
CATALYST FALL 2015
More than 2,700 volunteers
will donate over 200,000
hours this year, giving our
patients comfort and hope,
and making Cedars-Sinai
the special place that it is.
Thank you.
©2015 CEDARS-SINAI.
Catalyst
NON-PROFIT ORG.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
8700 Beverly Boulevard, Suite 2416
Los Angeles, California 90048
LOS ANGELES, CA
®
IN THIS ISSUE
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO. 22328
EVENTS
A Curious Mind
Whether she’s funding lifesaving
research, rescuing unwanted
animals or preparing to rocket
into space, Erika Glazer goes all in
when she feels the spark.
14
15
14
14
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22
NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER
Moments to Remember
Susan and David Wilstein
have made great memories
together, and they’re dedicated
to helping others do the same
by supporting critical memory
disorder research.
DECEMBER
APRIL
Hoop Dreams
Jeanie Buss’ father taught her how
to build an unbeatable team, and
she’s using those skills to help
assemble an A-list roster
of cancer surgeon-scientists.
APRIL
MAY
Women’s Guild Gala
Beverly Wilshire
Run for Her
Virtual event
The Heart Foundation
Galpin Motors Golf Classic
Lakeside Golf Club
Women’s Guild Spring Luncheon
Beverly Wilshire
The Helping Hand of Los Angeles
Mother of the Year Luncheon
Beverly Wilshire
Sports Spectacular
Hyatt Regency Century Plaza
®