This September at the University Club in New York City, a discussion of new research from the National Cancer Institute–designated Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC) was paired with a master class in wines of the Southern Hemisphere. The more than 180 attendees included several Montefiore Einstein board members and senior leaders.
Yaron Tomer, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean at Einstein, spoke about MECCC’s legacy of achievement. He noted that MECCC was one of the nation’s first centers to combine academic research with clinical care and is now treating more than 200 types of cancer.
Dr. Tomer said that under the leadership of Edward Chu, M.D., M.S.S., MECCC has recruited 53 scientists from some of the world’s most renowned research institutions, including the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Julio Aguirre-Ghiso, Ph.D., shared recent findings on cancer dormancy and stressed the importance to developing new treatments to prevent or cure metastasis.
One of those scientists is Julio Aguirre-Ghiso, Ph.D., the Rose C. Falkenstein Chair in Cancer Research at Einstein, who shared an overview of the center’s breakthrough findings on cancer cell dormancy and metastasis, as well as a strategy for preventing cancer relapse. He emphasized that preventing or curing metastases is the most critical challenge in cancer—the reason his team’s discovery of a natural immune mechanism in mice that targets escaped cancer cells is particularly noteworthy.
Kevin Zraly, an internationally acclaimed wine educator, discussed the wines of Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Kevin Zraly, an internationally acclaimed wine educator, capped off the evening by discussing the wines of Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa. His talk was followed by a reception matching each wine with a different food. By night’s end, guests had done more than lift their glasses: They also raised $150,000 in support of research at MECCC.
