Dr. Weiner, Director of the Herbert Irving Child & Adolescent Oncology Center
J. Gregory Mears, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center
Brianna Commerford, Ambassador for Hope and Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund, Ambassador for Hyundai “Hope on Wheels” Campaign
Our Honorary Chairpersons invite you to join them in A Celebration of Courage.
Your Participation will make a Difference in the Lives of so many.
Dr. Weiner, Director of the Herbert Irving Child & Adolescent Oncology Center
Dr. Michael Weiner is a native New Yorker. He is a graduate of Dickinson College and received his Medical Degree from the State University of New York Health Sciences Center in Syracuse NY. Postgraduate training was set at Montefiore Hospital and medical Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York University and the Johns Hopkins University Hospital.
He has devoted his career to children afflicted with cancer and their families. His particular interests include patients with Hodgkin’s Disease and acute leukemia and he is known nationally as a leading clinical investigator in the development of treatment regimens for patients with these diseases. Since 1996, he has been the Director of the Herbert Irving Child & Adolescent Oncology Center, Columbia University Medical Center located at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Childrren’s Hospital. He founded the Hope & Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund in order to build and sustain a margin of excellence in the treatment of pediatric cancer.
J. Gregory Mears, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center
After receiving a B.S. at Trinity College, Dr. Mears obtained an M.D. at The College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University. He undertook his Internal Medicine residency at Boston University Medical Center and his Hematology-Medical Oncology fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center.
Dr. Mears’ early career was research based and involved studies of the molecular genetics of disorders of hemoglobin as well as chronic myelogenous leukemia. For the past 25 years Dr. Mears has maintained a clinical practice caring for people with blood disorders with an emphasis on leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and multiple myeloma. Dr. Mears has a strong clinical interest in women with breast cancer and is the Medical Director of the OctoberWoman Foundation.
Additionally, Dr. Mears is pursuing clinical research in the fields of Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma as well as breast cancer. He is also actively engaged in the teaching of medical students, residents and fellows.
Brianna Commerford, Ambassador for Hope and Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund, Ambassador for Hyundai “Hope on Wheels” Campaign.
In January 2007 nine-year-old Brianna was a top player on her competitive soccer team and an accomplished horseback rider, but when she discovered a lump on her neck her life changed forever. After nine months of doctors, tests, scans and surgeries, Brianna was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
After her diagnosis, Brianna endured a grueling year of chemotherapy, transfusions, infections and hospital and clinic stays. Despite the toll the treatment took on her body, Brianna never let the disease bring her spirits down. Instead she poured all of her energy into raising money to find a cure – her team “bri Strong” has raised over $20,000 for the American Cancer Society – and spending time at her hospital with other young patients to encourage them on what she calls their “journey to wellness.”
Now that she in remission, Brianna is back to living the normal life of a 12 –year-old, playing soccer, cheerleading, horseback riding and going to the movies with her friends. Brianna knows that the strides made in childhood cancer research over the past decades have increased children’s cancer survival rates exponentially, including her own. She is dedicated to raising awareness for the need to fund life-saving research.
