5TH Annual Lupus Foundation of America Awards Gala
WHY:
To raise more than $1.4 million to support research, education and awareness programs to fight lupus, a debilitating autoimmune disease that affects 1.5 million young women, men and children - and disproportionately attacks women of color.
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WHO:
Master of Ceremonies - Soledad O'Brien, CNN Anchor and Special Correspondent
Featured Entertainer - Patti LaBelle, Grammy Award-Winning Artist
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HONOREES:
U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)
Sheila C. Johnson, CEO of Salamander Hospitality, LLC
Dr. Elliott Sigal, M.D., Ph.D., President of Research and Development, Executive Vice President, and Chief Scientific Officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb
PRESENTERS:
U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.)
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Sally Susman, Senior Vice President & Chief Communications Officer, Pfizer Inc
GUESTS INCLUDE:
U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Annette Shelby
U.S. Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah)
Congressman John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Debbie Dingell
Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) and Leslie Meek, Esq.
Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.)
Mrs. Michelle Fenty, First Lady of Washington, DC (invited)
Dr. Steven Katz, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Sir Deryck and Lady Va Maughan
Carol Ann Petren, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, CIGNA Corporation
Randall Winston, Executive Producer, "Scrubs," LFA Board Member
Ann and Vernon Jordan
Angela Burt-Murray, Editor-in-Chief, Essence Magazine
Hilary Rosen
Actress and Model Mercedes Yvette (Runner up, "America's Next Top Model")
Actress and Model Kelly Jean Drury
WHEN:
Wednesday, May 7 - Reception begins at 6 p.m. - Program begins at 7 p.m.
WHERE:
Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 1330 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024
ABOUT LUPUS:
Lupus is a chronic disease in which the immune system attacks the body's own healthy tissue and organs, which can lead to debilitating pain, organ failure, and death. More than five million people worldwide have lupus. The disease strikes mostly young women in the prime of their lives, and disproportionately strikes young women of color, especially African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asians -- a health disparity that remains unexplained. Despite the prevalence of lupus, there has not been a new treatment approved for the disease for more than four decades.
ABOUT THE LUPUS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA
The Lupus Foundation of America is the nation's foremost national nonprofit voluntary health organization dedicated to finding the causes of and a cure for lupus, and providing support and services to all people affected by lupus. The LFA has a nationwide network of more than 300 chapters, branches and support groups and conducts programs of research, education, and advocacy.
/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- May 5/
SOURCE Lupus Foundation of America
