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NYU Langone Medical Center
2012 Violet Ball |
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NYU Langone's 2012 Violet Ball.
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$4.2 million in unrestricted funding was raised at NYU Langone Medical Center’s annual Violet Ball, held at Cipriani on 42nd Street in New York City on May 3, 2012. This year’s honorees were Marica Vilcek and Jan Vilcek, MD, PhD, professor, Department of Microbiology at NYU School of Medicine. The Vilceks have generously given more than $120 million to NYU School of Medicine to fund scholarships, research, and the new medical student residence hall. Their ongoing support is an outward display of their deep gratitude for the many opportunities the Medical Center has provided Dr. Vilcek as his intellectual home. Kenneth G. Langone, chair of the Board of Trustees at NYU Langone, was Gala Chair, and Dean Grossman was Physician Committee Chair of the event.
Dr. Vilcek is one of the Medical Center’s leading physician-scientists, holding 46 patents and having published more than 350 scholarly papers. In 1989 Dr. Vilcek was the co-inventor in generating a monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis factor (TNF)—a powerful promoter of inflammation—that lead to the development of Remicade®, which has helped more than one million people world-wide. The success of Remicade® spurred the development of other anti-TNF agents used to treat a variety of inflammatory conditions.
Dr. Vilcek’s wife, Marica, is a gifted art historian. Born in Bratislava, Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia), Marica earned advanced degrees in art history at the Comenius University in Bratislava and Charles University in Prague and secured one of the few available curatorial positions in the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava. The Vilceks left communist Czechoslovakia in 1964 and arrived in New York in 1965 with their possessions packed inside a pair of suitcases. Within a few months, Marica joined the staff of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she remained for 32 years. During her tenure she served as Associate Curator in Charge of the Accessions and Catalogue Department. Marica has also served as an independent consultant to non-profit organizations including the Commission for Art Recovery of the World Jewish Congress, the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University, the Foundation for a Civil Society, and the Bard Graduate Center in New York. She has also advised private collectors and corporations, and lectured widely on collections management.
Guests in attendance at this year’s Violet Ball include: Anne Akers Benvenuto, Art Benvenuto, Denise Benmosche, William and Marjorie Berkley, Dr. Robert Berne and Shelley Berne, Tony and Carol Carbonetti, Dr. Elisabeth Cohen, Carol Feinberg, Lori and Laurence Fink, Lola Finkelstein, Dr. Max Gomez, Trudy and Robert Gottesman, George and Lori Hall, Sylvia Hassenfeld, Irma and Andrew Hilton, Helen Kimmel, Elaine Langone, Larry and Dalia Leeds, Martin Lipton, Vivian and Edward Merrin, Sandy Meyer, Patty Newburger, John Sexton, president of New York University, Norma and Gordon Smith, Robin Smith, MD, MBA, Sam and Nancy Sutton, Alice and Tom Tisch, Billie Tisch, Brad Wechsler, and Anthony Welters.
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NYU President John Sexton, Robert Berne MD, Martin Lipton, Ken Langone, Robert I.Grossman, MD, Dean and CEO NYU Langone, Sue Boddu, Jason Theobald, honorees Marica Vilcek and Jan Vilcek,MD PhD.
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Ken Langone and Elaine Langone.
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Robert I. Grossman, MD, Elisabeth Cohen, MD.
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Laurence Fink and Lori Fink.
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Trudy Elbaum Gottesman, Billie Tisch, Robert Gottesman, Alice Tisch.
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Sylvia Hassenfeld, Lola Finkelstein.
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Dr. Max Gomez, Alexandra Kindler-Mulitz.
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Harvey Dale, Helen Kimmel.
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| Photos:
Image 5: Jon Simon Photography. All other images by Jay Brady Photography. |
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