NEW YORK (October 30, 2025) – The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) held its annual Symposium & Awards Luncheon today at the New York Hilton Midtown and raised $4.4 million for lifesaving research. This year’s luncheon was hosted by Julianna Margulies and honored Leonard A. Lauder in memoriam and Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, D.Phil.
Leonard A. Lauder, BCRF Honorary Co-Chair in memoriam, was celebrated with the Sandra Taub Humanitarian Award in recognition of his enduring legacy and leadership of BCRF. Dee and Tommy Hilfiger and William P. Lauder shared tribute remarks. Larry Norton, MD presented Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, D.Phil with the Jill Rose Award for Scientific Excellence for his outstanding contributions to the field of breast cancer immunotherapy, and pioneering work to develop vaccines to prevent breast cancer or its recurrence.
This year, BCRF awarded $74.75 million in annual grants to more than 260 researchers worldwide, many of whom were in attendance to be recognized for their innovative projects and contributions to the field. At a scientific conference the day prior, investigators were provided the rare and critical opportunity to collaborate with their colleagues, across institutions, across disciplines, and across the world.
The day began with a symposium, “The Future of Immunotherapy and Breast Cancer,” moderated by BCRF Founding Scientific Director Larry Norton, MD, (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) and Scientific Director Judy E. Garber, MD, MPH (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School). The panelists included Mary L. (Nora) Disis, MD (University of Washington), Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, PHD (Dana Farber Cancer Institute), and Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, D.Phil (Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania).
The Awards Luncheon featured remarks from BCRF President & CEO Donna McKay, a celebration of the honorees, and presentation of research grant awards supporting the remarkable work of the doctors in the room.
BCRF also partnered with alice + olivia on a special Breast Cancer Awareness Month initiative highlighted by the online auction of a custom alice + olivia Bronco. Unveiled at the reopening of the brand’s Madison Avenue store on October 8, the auction closed today during the Symposium & Awards Luncheon and all proceeds raised go towards lifesaving breast cancer research.
Honorary Co-chairs of the event included Neil Golub, Karen Hale, Kinga Lampert, William P. Lauder, and Arlene Taub.
Notable guests included Allyn Rose, Carolyn Murphy, Danielle Lauder, Eliana Lauder, Katie Lee, Gretta Monahan, Emily Rockefeller, Emma Myles, Gary and Laura Lauder, Jenna Leigh Green, Dr. Sohaib Imtiaz, Judy Glickman Lauder, Katherine and Josh Lauder, Montego Glover, Lara Shriftman, Sarrah Strimel Bentley, and others.
Underwriters of the event included Neil Golub, Arlene Taub, Jody and John Arnhold, Amy Goldman Fowler, Roslyn and Leslie Goldstein, William P. Lauder, The Jill and Marshall Rose Family, Jeanne Sorensen Siegel, and Lifetime.
BCRF thanks supporters Winston Flowers, D’Arrigo, and Robinson Pelham Jewelers for helping make this event possible.
