Iris Cantor Lauded by Lupus Fundation
Iris Cantor, Richard DeScherer, Willie Geist, Mayor Bloomberg
The S.L.E. Lupus Foundation and the Lupus Research Institute honored Iris Cantor, Chairman and President of the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, at its annual Life Without Lupus Gala in November. Mrs. Cantor was celebrated as a trailblazer in bringing the power of philanthropy to transform medical research and care. Particularly fitting, the award was presented by Herb Pardes, M.D., retired president and chief executive and current executive vice chairman of New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Board of Trustees. There Ms. Cantor led the creation of the Iris Cantor Women’s Health Center as well as New York’s first Men’s Health Center, also named in her honor. In her acceptance remarks, she noted that “philanthropy and innovation go hand in hand. Through philanthropy we can accelerate the path from concept to practice.”
With close to 600 members of Metropolitan New York’s philanthropic, government, business, art, music, society and healthcare communities joining to “Celebrate Innovation” in lupus research and care, the event raised $2 million to support novel research intended to transform patients’ lives while advancing towards prevention and a cure. The event also honored Bahija Jallal, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, AstraZeneca, for her leadership in helping the company fulfill its commitment to furthering biomedical innovation to change the face of autoimmune treatment. “We believe great science will bring great medicine,” she said.
The single biggest lupus event and highly-anticipated annual fundraiser had appropriately stellar entertainment. Seventeen-time Grammy-winner Tony Bennett delighted the audience by performing such classics as “They All Laughed,” “I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” and especially “The Way You Look Tonight,” which he sang especially to Iris Cantor.
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