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25 Years – Timeline

To commemorate 25 years since Gabrielle passed away, Denise and her family launch the Angel Anniversary Fund with a goal of raising $1M for cancer research. 

In the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic, the Foundation hosts its first-ever online event, the Virtual Disco Party, with performances by Patti LaBelle, Kathy Sledge, Chaka Khan, and more. Over $1M is raised for research in a time when early career scientists need help more than ever.

The Foundation’s Medical Advisory Board selects eight of the nation’s top early career scientists to receive our three-year, $225,000 Medical Research Award Dr. Jeroen Roose (Gabrielle’s Angels Grantee 2011) is part of a team who has designed a large-scale screen that efficiently identifies drugs that are potent cancer-killers when combined, but only weakly effective when used alone. Using this technique, they eradicated a devastating blood cancer by jointly administering drugs that are only partially effective when used as single-agent therapies. This discovery was directly funded in part by Gabrielle’s Angels! 

Exciting news out of the lab of grantee Dr. Saar Gill at the University of Pennsylvania. A new approach pioneered at the Abramson Cancer Center may provide a new path towards treating Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) with CAR T cells. “Think of this as bone marrow transplant 2.0; the next generation of transplants,” Gill said. “It gives you a super powerful anti-leukemia effect thanks to the CAR T cells, but at the same time it has the potential to get rid of the main toxicity.” The Foundation’s Medical Advisory Board selects 10 top junior investigators to receive our three-year, $225,000 Medical Research Award. The Foundation also announces support for nine one-year grants; the Director’s Innovation Fund at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami, FL; one ASBMT New Investigator Award; two music therapy programs; and assorted symposia and medical conferences.

2011 grantee Jeroen Roose & his lab discover that normal T cells, a type of immune cell, possess a control mechanism to keep these cells in the resting state when there is no infection or immune response to a foreign substance in the body.

Foundation announces grants in the amount of $1,531,500 In the fall of 2015, the FDA approves three new treatments—daratumumab (Darzalex), elotuzumab (Empliciti) and ixazomib (Ninlaro)—that activate the body’s immune system to attack multiple myeloma cells or hinder their ability to grow. 

Foundation awards total of $1,735,000 in grants including 17 scientific research projects which include 3 New Investigator Awards administered by the American Society of Blood & Marrow Transplantation

Foundation announces awards totaling $2,307,000 in grants including 18 scientific research projects, 5 music therapy programs and select symposia Board Member Lorraine Schwartz takes a team of professional jewelry makers to Children’s National in Washington, D.C. for a special day of art therapy with pediatric cancer patients. These one-of-a-kind pieces, designed by the children & created by Lorraine’s team, were worn on the red carpet at the GRAMMY Awards by pop stars such as Taylor Swift, Pharrell and Katy Perry The FDA approves ibrutinib as a treatment for patients with a particularly aggressive form of NHL known as mantle cell lymphoma. The drug is also studied to determine whether it may help fight another type of NHL, follicular lymphoma, and the results are promising.

Foundation announces support for 7 early career scientists through Medical Research Awards.

 Medical Advisory Board Member, Dr. Janet D. Rowley, dubbed by The New York Times as the “Matriarch of Modern Cancer Genetics,” is awarded the country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Barack Obama Howard Hughes Medical Institute appoints 2005 Foundation grantee, Iannis Aifantis, Ph.D. of New York University Medical Center as one of the 50 top scientists earning a HHMI Early Career Scientist award & establishing him as one of the most outstanding young scientists in the country Grantee Tait Shanfelt, M.D. of the Mayo Clinic files a US patent on his green tea extract findings Twelve new Medical Research Awards announced total $2.7 million.

The Integrative Medicine Department at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center expands to include Gabrielle’s Music Therapy Program.  This free service brings live music to the bedside of patients and their family members by trained music therapists. 

New York landmark, The Empire State Building, lights up with Foundation colors red & purple to celebrate the Angel Ball which raises a record $5.3 million  Foundation distributes ten new grants totaling $2.25 million.