Frorm left: James Tisch, Co-Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of the Mount Sinai Health System, Dennis Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Ash Tewari, MBBS, MCh.
The Milton and Carroll Petrie Department of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai hosted its annual Prostate Cancer Research Gala and exceeded its goal of raising more than $1 million for the Center of Excellence for Prostate Cancer within the Department of Urology. Its mission is to eliminate prostate cancer through programs that support innovative research, patient care, prevention, and education for students, trainees, professionals, and the public.
“We are fortunate that at Mount Sinai the best minds across specialties like immunology, pathology, medical oncology, radiology, and others collaborate with the common goal of making prostate cancer insignificant while improving the quality of life for our patients,” said Ash Tewari, MBBS, MCh, Chair of the Department of Urology at the Mount Sinai Health System and the Kyung Hyun Kim, MD Professor of Urology at Icahn Mount Sinai, who spearheaded the gala and directs the Center of Excellence.
Goutam Chakraborty, PhD, left, and Dr. Charney
More than 200 people attended the event, which was held Wednesday, April 10, at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center. Actor and singer Peter Gallagher served as the emcee for the evening.
At the event, the second annual Steven Southwick, MD Memorial Award was presented to Goutam Chakraborty, PhD, Assistant Professor, Urology, and Oncological Sciences and a member of The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai. Named after renowned researcher and scientist Steven M. Southwick—a leading expert in psychological trauma and human resilience, who passed away in 2022 after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer—this award recognizes outstanding achievements in prostate cancer research.
Dr. Chakraborty was honored for his focus on lethal metastatic prostate cancer, which has no available treatments. He and his team made the groundbreaking discovery that the BRCA2 gene—most commonly known for its link to breast cancer—also has a connection to prostate cancer. Dr. Chakraborty is now looking at how mutations of genes like BRCA2 change cells from benign to metastatic disease, potentially leading to important new therapies.
“Research is like climbing a mountain, like climbing Everest, but we have not reached the top of Everest yet,” said Dr. Chakraborty in a video shown at the event. “Every day is a different challenge.”
Dr. Tewari, left, and John A. Levin
The gala also honored John A. Levin, who was recognized for his extraordinary commitment to the Prostate Cancer Program and longtime leadership on the Mount Sinai Board of Trustees. Dr. Tewari praised Mr. Levin’s unwavering support of the Mount Sinai Health System’s efforts to redefine cancer care, including his involvement with the International Prostate Cancer and Urology Symposium held at Mount Sinai, which draws the world’s top experts together to explore the latest advancements and challenges in urological cancer.
“His philanthropy has made an immense impact, not just on our prostate cancer program, but on a global understanding of prostate cancer, and to Mount Sinai itself, guiding and supporting research in different subspecialties,” said Dr. Tewari in a video.
In accepting the award, Mr. Levin noted that he’s proud to be part of Mount Sinai’s extraordinary service to New York City and beyond.
“We treat an enormous number of people. It is also an education arm and a research institution which creates new drugs, creates new devices,” he said in a video. “It’s really being part of a community and I want to help that community in whatever limited capacity I can.”