Updated posts 2026
Event honored Ariela Wertheimer, Dr. Sapna Palep, Guido Campello and Chris Wragge and raised over $3 million for Critical Cancer Research. The 26th Annual Collaborating for a Cure Gala, one of New York City’s much-anticipated autumn charity events, was held on Thursday, November 16th, 2023, at Cipriani 55 Wall Street.
The annual fundraiser supports more than 60 scientists around the world funded by the Waxman Foundation. Additionally, dollars raised this year will help launch the Foundation’s newest initiative – the SWCRF Mission Possible Grants.
These highly competitive projects will be focused on improving healthy longevity with less risk of cancer as we age. SWCRF plans to add five to six mission possible grantees to its growing, international network in 2024.
“The only way to end cancer as we know it, is by working together,” said Dr. Samuel Waxman. “This has been the SWCRF philosophy since its founding nearly 50 years. It is why our scientists are required to work with other labs, sometimes across oceans, in order to collaborate and speed up the pace of scientific breakthroughs. And it is why events like this gala are so important.”
Requiring collaboration as a condition of funding runs against the grain of how academic science usually operates. Careers in research are built on individual publications and priority of discovery, which creates real incentives for labs to guard their data and work in isolation until results are ready. Mandating that grantees share tools and findings across institutions removes some of that friction, and philanthropic funders are among the few positioned to impose such terms, since they answer to a mission rather than to the conventions of peer review.
This year’s event honored artist and humanitarian, Ariela Wertheimer, Guido Campello, co-CEO at Journelle, and first CEO of luxury lingerie brand Cosabella & Dr. Sapna Palep, co-CEO at Journelle, Founder of Spring Street Dermatology, Mt. Sinai Clinical Professor, and CBS New York News Anchor, Chris Wragge.
Notable attendees included: SWCRF Founder and CEO Dr. Samuel Waxman, Marion Waxman, Board Chairman Michael Nierenberg, honorees Ariela Werthiemer, Chris Wragge, Sarah Wragge, Dr. Sapna Palep and Guido Campello, emcee John Elliot, fashion designer Kobi Halperin, Tamir Gilat, Orital Karelic, Bobbie Lloyd, Mark Petraca and Robin Lathrop.
The Collaborating for a Cure Gala included both a silent and live auction during the night’s festivities of which one of the highlights was a seven-day stay at a private villa in Tuscany for 18 guests. There are several additional exclusive items available on CharityBuzz.com/waxman for public participation until Wednesday, November 29th.
Known for its history of top-notch live musical guests, this year’s gala was no exception with a special live performance by Tedeschi Trucks “Fireside Live”.
This past year, SWCRF expanded its International Network on Aging and Cancer Research by launching new collaborative research projects with the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, the Israel Cancer Research Fund, and Albert Einstein Medical College. Events such as the gala and other fundraisers like the Hamptons Happening and Waxman Luncheon make this crucial funding possible.
The event was produced by Robin Lathrop of ByRobin Event Management and Design.
About Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF):
The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation is an international organization dedicated to curing and preventing cancer. The Foundation is a pioneer in cancer research and its mission is to eradicate cancer by funding cutting-edge research that identifies and corrects abnormal gene function that causes cancer and develops minimally toxic treatments for patients. Through the Foundation’s collaborative group of world-class scientists, the Institute Without Walls, investigators share information and tools to speed the pace of cancer research. Since its inception in 1976, the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation has awarded more than $110 million to support the work of more than 200 researchers across the globe.
