W in ter 2012 - NYU Langone Medical Center

Sasha Nialla
Rene Perez
Edith Hall-Friedheim, with a portrait of Arthur Friedheim.
A Tender Heart
It was 1995, and Edith Hall-Friedheim’s husband,
Eric Friedheim, was on his way home from a
New York City hospital after being treated for
a heart attack. Eric was 85, but age had never
slowed him down. He was, in fact, going full
throttle in a career that had long established his
leadership in the travel industry.
Still, he did not look well, and Mrs. HallFriedheim did not want to send him back to the
same hospital. She called her daughter, who
called a customer from her Kitchenette restaurant, and the customer said, “Call Dr. Howard
Kloth at NYU.” Mrs. Hall-Friedheim made the
call, and soon after, Dr. Kloth was at Eric’s side
in the emergency room.
Eric had had another heart attack, and the
outlook was negative. “That first night, my
daughter and son-in-law went to St. Patrick’s
and lit every candle in the place,” she explains.
“It was that bad. But the doctors would not give
up, and for the next seven years, they kept
saving him and saving him.”
Today, because of the skilled and tender care
her husband received from Medical Center
physicians and nurses, Mrs. Hall-Friedheim has
made generous gifts to cardiology, hematology, and the expanding Center for Emergency
Services here.
Eric Friedheim, it turns out, was not only
suffering from congestive heart failure; he had
leukemia. Tibor Moskovits, MD, was his
hematologist. “Dr. Moskovits was always a
step ahead; his judgment was infallible,” says
Mrs. Hall-Friedheim. “He would say, ‘There’s a
new drug; only 10 percent of patients respond
to it, but I think we should try it.’ And Eric
would always respond. He continued working
right up to the end.”
A Tender Heart—continued on page 6
Jeremy Nance, left, was able to hire graduate student Daisuke Chihara, right, to work in his lab as part of his Hirschl Trust grant.
Recognizing Talent: The Irma T.
Hirschl Trust Grants
Determination, discipline, intelligence, passion and curiosity are the hallmarks of the scientific
researcher. Discoveries are incremental, eureka moments infrequent.
But if the history of scientific research has demonstrated one thing, it is that identifying the
most promising young biomedical investigators early in their careers and funding their ideas
often leads to promising advances in medicine.
At NYU Langone Medical Center and NYU School of Medicine (SOM), one particular grantor,
the Irma T. Hirschl Trust, has been funding early career scientists since 1972. “The kind of early
financing we provide through the Hirschl Trust is difficult to obtain,” notes trustee Len Schmolka,
“and yet it is critical to scientific discovery and to progress in human health.” Adds trustee Robert
Todd Lang, “Many, if not most, of these young researchers emerge as leaders in the profession.”
In fact, the NYU SOM scientists funded by Hirschl Trust grants have garnered a 3,226 percent
return on investment, or $284.6 million, through subsequent National Institutes of Health (NIH)
grants. These federal grants are a frequently used yardstick for success, but unless young scientists receive support in the first 10 to 20 years in their careers, they may not have the resources to
move their ideas far forward enough to demonstrate the validity required to obtain a prestigious,
highly competitive NIH grant.
Investment in research through the NIH has provided an estimated 50-fold return to the economy by improving the health of Americans, which is why Messrs. Schmolka and Lang encourage
other donors follow the successful Irma T. Hirschl Trust model of funding.
In this two-part series, we meet four NYU SOM scientists, two of them recent recipients of
Hirschl Trust grants, and two of them established investigators who received their early-career
Hirschl grants more than ten years ago. Our first two profiles are of Jeremy Nance, PhD, an earlycareer scientist, and Gord Fishell, PhD, renowned in his field.
The Best Understood Animal on Earth
Roundworms, or C. elegans, would seem to have little in common with human beings. The onemillimeter-length adults have 1,000 cells—humans have 100 trillion cells. Roundworms’ procreative abilities revolve around self-fertilizing hermaphrodites as well as males who mate with
those same hermaphrodites. There are no females.
And, unlike the complex human being, C. elegans is the “best understood animal on earth,”
explains Jeremy Nance, PhD, recipient of an Irma T. Hirschl Trust grant and an associate professor within NYU Langone’s Helen and Martin Kimmel Stem Cell Center for Biology. The worm’s
very simple structure, paired with the fact that this transparent nematode carries most of the
same genes that humans have, make it a frequent object of study.
Recognizing Talent— continued on page 7
Winter 2012—
Philanthropy in Motion
Sasha Nialla
Rene Perez
A Message from
Bob Grossman and
Lisa Silverman
Dear friends,
Welcome to the latest edition of Philanthropy in Motion.
Women’s health, pediatric, emergency and rehabilitative care, volunteerism and an exemplary model of
funding basic science round out the topics in this issue.
You’ll recognize some names, such as the legendary
Joan H. Tisch, and meet some relatively new ones,
such as Edith Hall-Friedheim, good friends all.
And don’t miss the coverage on page five of the wonderful family party we held in October to honor NYU
Langone Trustee Sylvia Hassenfeld and her family.
Over 1,000 guests joined us at the Intrepid Sea, Air
and Space Museum to celebrate the Hassenfelds’
$50 million commitment to create the Hassenfeld
Pediatric Center, a full-service children’s hospital,
scheduled to open in 2017, which promises to set new
standards in pediatric care.
Your stories, why you give to NYU Langone, what
makes our Medical Center special, and how we have
formed a strong community of people who care
deeply about healthcare and its progress, are
shaping our evolution into a world-class medical
center dedicated to excellence. Your generous
contributions are an investment in this great institution and we are honored by them.
Thank you again for your support, and please let us
know what we can do for you. We also welcome
comments and suggestions from our readers, which
can be sent to [email protected]. We look forward to
your feedback.
Children in the playroom on Tisch Hospital’s 9 East pediatric floor can check their illnesses at the door,
thanks to the generous leadership of the Weiss family.
Adam’s Legacy
Thirty years ago the Weiss family received the
devastating news that their young son, Adam,
had a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma known
as Burkitt’s.
“A severely ill child either pulls the family
together or it breaks them apart,” says Ellen Weiss,
who with her husband, NYU Langone cardiologist Edwin Weiss, MD, did everything possible to
save their child and give him as much comfort as
they could until he passed away.
“We brought Adam to Tisch [Hospital] because
we knew NYU had the best treatments, the most
advanced protocols for his disease,” says Dr.
Weiss. “But our experience, and this was when
outreach to patients and families did not exist in
a lot of hospitals, was very difficult.”
The Weisses took turns staying with Adam.
At night the hospital cafeteria would close, says
Mrs. Weiss, and she would wander out into the
neighborhood in search of food that her 11 yearold son would find palatable. “Even healthy kids
can be picky, and Adam’s mouth was very sore.”
There was also little for Adam and the other
chronically ill pediatric patients to do. A small
recreational room was inadequate, say the
Weisses. There was no gathering place for families. Lighting was harsh, the surroundings plain.
The Weisses wished for more for their son, their
family, and the other patients and families who
spent so much time on the floor.
“It was a different time,” says Mrs. Weiss.
“Things were what they were, and not just at our
hospital.” The Weisses responded to Adam’s
passing by starting the Adam Scott Weiss
Memorial Fund, which raises money annually,
and began taking up project after project on
Tisch’s 9 East pediatric floor, among them:
a multi-purpose playroom, which they have
renovated several times, a treatment room,
the original pantry and café for family dining,
hallway decor and others.
“What is the center of the family day?” asks
Dr. Weiss. “It is dinner around the table together.
The pantry and café allows families to share
a real meal with the hospitalized child. That’s
when the horror of disease fades away.”
Mrs. Weiss talks about the improvements
their fund has made to a treatment room.
Medical instruments down-sized for children’s
bodies, flat screen televisions on the ceiling and
a side wall to distract a child, a heating panel
to keep the chill away, and warm lighting—
Dr. Weiss found a European-designed light cap
that got rid of the fluorescent effect. Collectively,
these details help soothe children.
Adam’s Legacy— continued on page 6
Make a Gift Now
Robert I. Grossman, MD
Our physicians and nurses strive each day
The Saul J. Farber Dean and CEO
to offer exceptional and compassionate care to
patients and their families. If you would like
to honor that special physician or nurse, consider
a gift to NYU Langone Medical Center’s annual
Faculty & Friends Campaign.
Lisa J. Silverman
Vice President of Development and Alumni Affairs
To make your contribution, please visit our
website at www.facultyandfriends.org or contact
Temra Bellanton, director, development, at
212.404.3854 or [email protected].
page 2
philanthropy in motion—winter 2012
Jon Simon
The late Peter Lefkow, MD
In Memoriam
A Doctor’s Philosophy
Lives On
Nieca Goldberg, MD, director of the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health, and Joan H. Tisch
An Uptown Home for Women’s Health
Women of a certain age can recall the days when most of the physicians who cared for them were
men. In 1970, only 7.6 percent of physicians were women. Medicine had an inherent male bias.
Social change, however, had a revolutionary effect, and by 2004, more than half of all students
at U.S. medical schools were women. As more women came into the profession, women’s health,
and how treatments for disease need to take into account the differences between women and
men, came into its own.
This evolution reached full force, thanks to a remarkably generous commitment from philanthropist Joan H. Tisch, when last fall, NYU Langone Medical Center opened the 23,000 square-foot
Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The facility continues the
Medical Center’s leadership in offering basic and specialized services that address the entire spectrum of healthcare for women.
The Joan H. Tisch Center also brings NYU Langone healthcare, backed by top-tier clinical and
translational research, to uptown Manhattan. “Heart disease is the number one killer of women
today in the developed world; in fact more women die of heart attacks than men,” notes Nieca
Goldberg, MD, the center’s director and a cardiologist.
Dr. Goldberg is the author of Dr. Nieca Goldberg’s Complete Guide to Women’s Health as well as
other books, including Women Are Not Small Men. She points out, “Women often don’t recognize
heart attack symptoms, which are different from the well-known symptoms that men have. As
physicians, we have a responsibility to educate every patient as well as care for them.”
Dr. Goldberg and her colleagues at the Joan H. Tisch Center offer exceptional patient-centered
care under one roof and in over 18 areas, including internal medicine, fertility services, gynecology,
cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, mental health services, rehabilitative medicine, urology
and vascular services.
The facility features a calm and gentle environment. Warm woods and attractive fabrics make
up the soothing and spacious interiors, which include private, comfortable exam and consultation
rooms as well as artwork sponsored by donors. A convertible lecture/workshop space is home
to events that will empower women by giving them guidance on wellness, treatments and other
health issues.
The opening of the Joan H. Tisch Center continues Mrs. Tisch’s tradition as a staunch advocate
for health. She was one of the most influential philanthropists and volunteers during the early
days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and, with her family, continues to have an extraordinary impact
on the well-being of families who rely upon NYU Langone or who live in the New York City
metropolitan area.
“As a woman and a New Yorker, I understood that this center would be a force for change in
women’s healthcare for the patients who visit it but that it would also, because it is connected to
one of the finest academic medical centers, become a leader in all women’s healthcare,” says Mrs.
Tisch. “Its impact will resonate beyond its borders.” To make a gift to women’s healthcare, please
contact Staci Weininger, director, development, at 212.404.3634 or [email protected].
“He was bigger than life,” says Mariano Rey, MD,
of his colleague and friend, the late Peter Lefkow,
MD. A beloved physician and encouraging teacher, Dr.
Lefkow was a presence at NYU Langone for over 40
years. Graduating from NYU School of Medicine in 1972,
he became a full-time faculty member the following
year, and was clinical professor of medicine and
director of cardiology programs at the Smilow Cardiac
and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention Center
when he passed away in 2010 after a courageous
battle with cancer.
Through Dr. Lefkow’s generous estate plan, an
education suite has been established in his name on
the ninth floor of the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Health
Care Center. The suite will make it easier for doctors to
collaborate and will provide a much-needed meeting
space for members of groups like Mend-a-Heart, which
Dr. Lefkow helped create. Jonathan Whiteson, MD,
assistant professor and director of outpatient continued
care services, Departments of Rehabilitation Medicine
and Medicine, remembers Dr. Lefkow as his mentor. The
suite, as Dr. Whiteson describes it, “Cements the relationship between rehab and cardiology—it enhances
that already great relationship.”
Dr. Lefkow leaves behind a legacy of humanitarian
care. Through two years of chemotherapy and radiation, he never missed a day of work. “It was his life,”
Danielle, the eldest of his three daughters, explains.
“When we were kids, my dad always took my sisters
and me to the hospital on the weekend for rounds.” It
was during these rounds that other doctors and residents were witnesses to the special rapport he built
with patients.
“Dr. Lefkow would go out and buy a patient a pair of
shoes if he needed them,” says Dr. Rey. “And during
the last six months of his life he said he wanted to leave
money and he wanted to create a place where people
could meet. Peter’s philosophy was that you can only
be made better if you collaborate with others—he was
big on that—transcending barriers.” Adds Tom Hogan,
a trustee of the Lefkow estate, “He loved to take care
of people. He epitomized the type of physician you’d
like to meet.”
The spirit of Dr. Lefkow’s philosophy continues.
“Peter lives on in my mind every single day,” says Dr.
Whiteson. “He still governs what I do. I’m always thinking, ‘what would Peter have done?’ We smile at the way
we hear his voice.” To create your own legacy, please
contact Marilyn Van Houten, senior director, development,
at 212.404.3653 or [email protected]
page 3
philanthropy in motion—winter 2012
Jay Brady and Chris London
NYU Cancer Institute
Annual Gala
Doubles Funds Raised
NYU Langone Medical Center’s Cancer Institute
held its annual gala on October 3, raising $3.2
million, almost doubling the funds raised in 2010.
Left to right from the top,
Denise and (honoree) Robert
Benmosche with NYU Langone
Trustees Lori and Larry Fink.
Mrs. Fink is chair of the Cancer
Institute Advisory Board;
Bill Carroll, director of the
NYU Cancer Institute and the
Julie and Edward J. Minskoff
Professor of Pediatrics, with
physician honoree Abraham
Chachoua, MD, the Jay and
Isabel Fine Associate Professor
of Oncology ; Elisabeth Cohen,
MD, with her husband, NYU
Langone Dean and CEO Bob
Grossman, MD; Elaine and
(NYU Langone Board Chair)
Ken Langone
The gala, held at Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel, honored Abraham Chachoua, MD, the Jay and Isabel
Fine Associate Professor of Oncology, and Robert
H. Benmosche, president and chief executive
officer of American International Group, Inc. Over
600 supporters, a record, attended the event,
which was hosted by Robert I. Grossman, MD,
Dean and CEO of the Medical Center, and chaired
by the entire Cancer Institute Advisory Board, led
by NYU Langone Trustee Lori Fink.
Jay Brady
Left to right from the top,
CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien,
mistress of ceremonies, with
Laith Jazrawi, MD., Honoree
Frank Olson with his wife
Sarah; Bob Grossman, MD,
Physician Honoree Andrew
Rosenberg, Vice Dean Steven
Abramson, Joe Zuckerman,
MD, the Walter A. Thompson
Professor of Orthopaedic
Surgery, and Ken Langone;
Lisa Pevaroff-Cohn and
HJD Advisory Board Chair
Gary Cohn
HJD Founders Gala
Raises Over $1.6 Million
The Medical Center’s Hospital for Joint Diseases
(HJD) held its annual gala in early November,
raising over $1.6 million. Honorees Frank A. Olson,
chairman emeritus of The Hertz Corporation,
and physician honoree Andrew D. Rosenberg,
MD, executive vice chair of the Department of
Anesthesiology as well as chief of anesthesiology
at HJD, joined over 600 guests at the celebration
at the American Museum of Natural History.
page 4
philanthropy in motion—winter 2012
Cookie Monster and a friend
Jay Brady and Annie Watt
NYU Langone Trustee Sylvia Hassenfeld with Dean and CEO Bob Grossman, MD
Alexander Casdin, Ellen Hassenfeld Block with Kinsey Casdin, Michael Block, Laurie Block, Susan Block Casdin with Blaisdell Casdin
Alan Hassenfeld
Alice and Billie Tisch
Catherine Manno, MD
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
and Barbara Walters
Nirav R. Shah, MD, MPH
Bob and Trudy Gottesman
Avital, Achi (MD) and Irit Ludomirsky
(NYU Langone Board Chair) Ken and Elaine Langone
2011 Intrepid Fete
Honors Sylvia Hassenfeld
and Her Family
Last fall, NYU Langone Medical Center announced
that three generations of the Hassenfeld family,
led by NYU Langone Trustee Sylvia Hassenfeld,
had made a remarkably generous $50 million
Mr. Potato Head and friend
commitment to create our first comprehensive
pediatric hospital. This momentous occasion
called for a special celebration, and on October 2,
hundreds of children, parents and grandparents
joined the Hassenfelds, their guests and NYU
Langone staff aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space
Museum for a very festive afternoon.
Speakers included Sylvia and Alan Hassenfeld,
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, mistress of ceremonies Barbara Walters, and New York State
Sandy and Ed Meyer
Commissioner of Health, Nirav R. Shah, MD, MPH,
formerly assistant professor of medicine at NYU
Langone. Wonderful weather, a host of activities
and fabulous food were enjoyed by all!
Kinsey Casdin and friends
page 5
philanthropy in motion—winter 2012
Ann Watt and Jay Brady
Adults in Toyland
Raises Over $700,000
Under the Boardwalk was the theme at the
annual Adults in Toyland event, which raised over
$700,000 for the Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children’s
Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and the
Department of Pediatrics. The festivities included
boardwalk and casino games, a DJ and a silent
auction, drawing over 500 New York City professionals to a good cause.
Left to right from the top,
Physician co-chairs Bret
Rudy, MD, left, and Catherine
Manno, MD, the Pat and
John Rosenwald Professor of
Pediatrics, right, with Ellen
Hassenfeld Block; Bill Carroll,
MD, director of the NYU Cancer
Institute and the Julie and
Edward J. Minskoff Professor
of Pediatrics; Event co-chairs:
Britt Szostak, Morgan Hertzn,
Brooke Jaffe, Patti Kim, Kelly
Kennedy Mack, Susan Block
Casdin, Harlan Saroken, Keri
Glassman, Steven Jaffe, Mike
Weaver and Kimberly Goodwin;
Maya and Edward Manley
Jay Brady
Sasha Nialla
NYU Langone Dean and
CEO Bob Grossman, MD, NYU
Langone Trustee and Mott Award
Honoree William R. Berkley, and
NYU Langone Board Chair Ken
Langone.
Brian, left, and Harlan Saroken
with children during last fall’s
back-to-school celebration
at the Hassenfeld Children’s
Center.
Back to School Blast!
Dean’s Honors Day
Harlan Saroken and her husband, Brian, have
Recognizes Berkley
made it their tradition to sponsor the back-to-
The 2011 Valentine Mott Award honoree, NYU
school season with patients and their families at
Langone Medical Center Trustee William R.
the Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children’s Center for
Berkley, was recognized for his exceptional and
Cancer and Blood Disorders. Gifts like backpacks
long-standing support and leadership at this
and special activities delight the kids, and take
year’s annual Dean’s Honors Day celebration.
away the sting of illness.
A Tender Heart— continued from page 1
Adam’s Legacy— continued from page 2
Mrs. Hall-Friedheim is also grateful to the EMTs
who took Eric to the emergency room time and time
again, and to Barbara, the critical care nurse who
“treated my husband like he was her own father.”
One day, during one of the many trips Mrs. HallFriedheim took to the emergency room with her
husband, Eric was about to be transferred to a private
room. “And I looked at him,” says Mrs. Hall Friedheim,
“and he was gone.”
She has many fond memories of her times with Eric,
and she notes that their first meeting was like kismet.
“I was a concert pianist before I became a travel
writer. When I was 15, I bought the Chopin Etudes, a
version edited by Arthur Friedheim.” This particular
Friedheim was a renowned pupil of 19th century composer Franz Liszt, and as gifted a writer about music
page 6
as he was a musician. “I fell in love with his musical
sensibilities,” says Mrs. Hall-Friedheim, who became
an expert on this eminent man.
Later in life, Edith Hall came looking for a job at
Travel Agent magazine, and was interviewed by Eric
Friedheim. “I mentioned that I knew of Arthur Friedheim,”
she explains, “and it was as if Eric and I had known
each other our entire lives. He was Arthur’s son.” Fate
had brought them together, and together they remained.
To make a gift to the Cardiac & Vascular Institute, please
contact Ken Hurd, senior director, development, at
212.404.3569 or [email protected]. To make a
gift to the Center for Emergency Services, please
contact Anna Kornilakis, senior director, development,
at 212.404.3656 or [email protected].
philanthropy in motion—winter 2012
It has meant much to the Weisses to be a part
of the evolution in pediatric hospital care. They
received “the best compliment ever” when a
former NYU Langone pediatrician copied much
of what they had done at another Manhattan
institution. “I like to think we’ve been a good
influence these last 30 years,” adds Dr. Weiss.
To make a gift to pediatric medicine, please contact
Danielle Leahy, senior director, development, at
212.404.4346 or [email protected].
Rene Perez
Dr. Fishell says his Hirschl grant played a vital role in his career.
Recognizing Talent: The Irma T. Hirschl Trust Grants — continued from page 1
“My lab, and the focus of my Hirschl Trust
grant, is to try and understand how this
worm’s embryo goes from an unorganized
ball of cells to a form with a logical organization and body plan,” Dr. Nance continues.
“This is what happens during embryogenesis,
whether it is in humans, roundworms, or
other creatures.”
Dr. Nance originally planned to study plant
biology in graduate school. He had developed
an early interest in nature as a boy, and frequented his father’s home laboratory—Dad was
a chemist—to study plants, birds, the natural
world. “But then I took a course in developmental biology in graduate school, and I just fell for
it,” says Dr. Nance.
The genetic similarities between C. elegans
and humans allow scientists like Dr. Nance
to identify genes important for embryonic
development in order to learn which ones may
underlie human health problems, be it the
causes of tumor development, birth defects, or
other diseases and conditions.
“I began studying gastrulation, the early
embryonic development phase in most animals,
in 2000, and I started my lab here in 2004,” says
Dr. Nance. “The Hirschl grant has allowed
me to continue a project that is not funded by
another major grant—this work is not fully
evolved to the level required for an NIH grant
application.
“The hope is that after the Hirschl grant ends,
I will have enough data to apply for an NIH
grant. The value of the Hirschl Trust is that it
gives a researcher essential time to gather the
preliminary data and results necessary to move
forward.”
Repairing the brain: One cell at a time…
“When I look back on what the Hirschl Trust
grant did for me, it gave me the breathing
room I needed to take a new direction with my
work,” says Gord Fishell, PhD, a member of the
Medical Center’s Neuroscience Institute, and
a neuroscientist renowned for cell studies that
have led to important discoveries in developmental brain disorders.
Dr. Fishell received his grant in the late 90s,
when he was studying the genetic factors, or
patterning, that control formation of the brain.
“The work I do now is more clinically relevant,
but I wouldn’t have gotten there without the
kind of support the Hirschl grant gave me.”
Developmental brain disorders, including
autism, schizophrenia, manic/depressive illness and epilepsy are especially challenging for
patients and their families. Thankfully, Dr.
Fishell’s work is deepening our understanding
of the embryonic molecular and genetic origins
of these disorders. It all began 15 years ago,
when Dr. Fishell realized he wanted to rethink
the way he did science.
“Right around the time I got tenure, I said to
myself, I am going to do something completely
different,” he says. “I was talking to someone,
and I wanted to know the difference that tenure
makes. His comment was, ‘you either pick up a
sport to learn, one that you know you want to
get good at; or you try something that is higher
risk. The outcome is less certain, but it is worth
the challenge.’”
Dr. Fishell began to set up a lab with the
intention of doing something groundbreaking.
He says that the Hirschl grant allowed him to
keep his lab going while he thought about his
next step. Soon after, Dr. Fishell began working on the nervous system by looking at specific
cells that appeared to be fundamental to the
way the brain processes information.
“I came across a group of cells that are called
cortical interneurons, and they just captured
my imagination,” he explains. “There was not
much information about them, except that they
were sparse and were the glue that binds other
neurons together. I wanted to understand how
they were made and how they function.”
The Hirschl grant supported the Fishell lab’s
exploring how genetic programs function in
babies to make these cells and position them
in the developing brain. Dr. Fishell says that
while we may think of diseases like Asperger’s
and schizophrenia as diffuse brain deficits,
research demonstrates that the cognitive failures in people struck by these conditions are in
fact focal, cell-specific.
“We use mice models where we take out a
specific cell type,” says Dr. Fishell. “If you see
that by removing that cell type, it causes a
certain disorder, you might hypothesize that
making that cell type fire faster could help solve
the problem.” Dr. Fishell and his colleagues
continue to explore these cell types, so that one
day they may be able to discover drugs that can
either prevent developmental brain disorders or
perhaps repair them. To make a gift to support
scientific research, please contact Renee Davis,
senior director, development, at 212.404.3692 or
[email protected].
Planned Giving
Create a legacy at NYU Langone Medical Center with your own planned gift,
and you will make a lasting impact on the wellbeing of the patients and families
we serve. There are a variety of options, which allow you to tailor a gift to best
suit your objectives. Call Marilyn Van Houten, senior director of development,
for an appointment, and join us as we raise the bar in health care here and
beyond our campus. To reach Marilyn Van Houten, call 212.404.3653 or email
[email protected].
Marilyn Van Houten
Senior Director of Development, Planned Giving
212.404.3653
[email protected]
page 7
philanthropy in motion—winter 2012
Sasha Nialla
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
NEW YORK, NY
PERMIT NO. 8167
Doris Farrelly
Doris Farrelly is president of the NYU Langone
Medical Center Auxiliary, a group of dedicated and
ever-present volunteers who do everything from
providing patients with the important extras to
the kind of fundraising that can generate a sevenfigure gift. She spoke with us recently on why she
became involved and what it means to her.
I N S I D E
T H I S
I S S U E :
Q: How old is the Auxiliary?
A: The Auxiliary was formed in 1958. Back then,
Recognizing Talent in the Sciences —cover
most of the members were doctors’ wives, and
A Tender Heart—cover
they focused on the babies’ ward. Today, the
Auxiliary is still mostly women, and some of us
also have our own careers. Our work is wide-ranging. We have five board meetings a year, during
which we review submitted grants and proposals
and exchange ideas.
Adam’s Legacy—page 2
A Home for Women’s Health —page 3
Special Events —pages 4 and 6
A Commitment to Children —page 5
Q: How did you become involved in the Auxiliary?
A: My daughter, now deceased, became a patient
in 1974; she spent extended periods of time here.
I was always with her. I sought out other parents
to speak with, and we formed an informal support system. Nursing suggested I initiate a parent
volunteer program, which I did under the direction of Social Work in 1984. I was asked to join the
Auxiliary in 1985.
Q: What are some of the key elements in
Auxiliary-funded programs?
A: The primary role of a parent volunteer is to
listen. Parents of sick children may want to talk, or
they may just want a quiet place to reflect, such as
the Parent Lounge or Café we recently renovated
on the Tisch Hospital 9 East pediatric unit. We also
provide wigs and prosthetic devices for indigent
cancer patients through the Patient Assistance
Fund. The Helping Hand Fund addresses financial
Philanthropy in Motion is published by NYU Langone
Medical Center for the Office of Development. Readers
are invited to send their comments to pim @ nyumc.org
To make an online gift to NYU Langone Medical Center,
please visit http://development.med.nyu.edu/.
If you wish to have your name removed from NYU Langone
Medical Center’s Office of Development mailing lists,
please e-mail us at: developmentoffice @ nyumc.org and
include the mailing address where you are currently
receiving correspondence.
New York University
Martin Lipton, Esq., Chairman, Board of Trustees
John Sexton, President
Robert Berne, PhD, Executive Vice President for Health
Debra A. LaMorte, Senior Vice President for
Development and Alumni Relations
crises someone may face due to a hospital stay; it
pays for food, transportation and other essentials.
We support holiday parties and special events for
adult/pediatric patients and families and an
artist-in-residence program.
Q: Tell us about some of your colleagues
on the Auxiliary.
A: They are all terrific! Many of them join because
they have been deeply touched by the way we
NYU Langone Medical Center
Kenneth G. Langone, Chairman, Board of Trustees
Robert I. Grossman, MD, Dean and CEO
Lisa J. Silverman, Vice President for Development and
Alumni Affairs
Beth Rowan, Senior Director, Stewardship
Philanthropy in Motion
Nancy Owen Rieger, Editor
Design per se, Inc., Design and Production
may have helped them, a family member or
friend. Vice president Ronnie Perl, past Auxiliary
president Laurie Perlmutter, current gift shop
Copyright © New York University
All rights reserved.
supervisor Yola Kramer, who was hired to work
with our gift shop volunteers, and many others
have been instrumental to our success. We are
always moving forward! To make a gift to the
Auxiliary, please contact Sarah Thanhauser David,
associate director, development, at 212.404.3648
or [email protected]
NYU Langone Medical Center
Office of Development and Alumni Affairs
One Park Avenue, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel. 212.404.3640
Fax. 212.404.3687
Website: http://development.med.nyu.edu
Philanthropy in Motion
27 years and counting
a newsletter for the NYU Langone donor community
Meet the Volunteer: