Events

Sherry Lansing, chair of the UC Board of Regents, and her husband, Academy Award-winning film director William Friedkin, hosted a reception in their home on May 2, 2012, to hear Dr. Richard J. Shemin, chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, discuss "Innovations and Excellence in the Treatment of Cardiac Disease." Dr. Shemin told guests about advances being made by division faculty in surgical techniques, including robotic and minimally invasive procedures, specialized critical care and basic-science and clinical research. Due to financial challenges facing public academic medicine, Dr. Shemin has established an Innovation in Cardiovascular Diseases Endowment Fund for the division. For more information about this fund or for questions about UCLA Cardiothoracic Surgery, contact Health Sciences Development at (310) 206-3079.

On June 6, 2012, the UCLA Longevity Center honored Sidney Poitier, Jane and Terry Semel, Dr. Peter Whybrow and Shlomo and Steve Rechnitz at its ICON Awards gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Patti Davis was guest speaker, Natalie Cole performed and Lisa Ann Walter served as host. Quincy Jones presented the ICON Award for Artistic Excellence to Mr. Poitier, who, in 1963, became the first black recipient of an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Lilies of the Field). Recently, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The ICON Award for Visionary Leadership in Science and Medicine was given to the Semels. Terry Semel, chairman and CEO of Windsor Media, and Jane Bovingdon Semel, founder of ijane inc., which produced the Face The Issue PSA campaign, endowed the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. The ICON Award for Visionary Leadership in Science and Medicine also was presented to Dr. Whybrow, executive chair of the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and director of the Semel Institute.

The Rechnitz twins received the ICON Award for Visionary Leadership in Business and Philanthropy. In 2004, Shlomo Rechnitz founded Brius Healthcare Company, and he also is co-founder, with his brother Steve Rechnitz, and CEO of Twin Med, LLC. They have contributed millions of dollars to cancer research.

The UCLA Longevity Center, directed by Dr. Gary Small, aging and memory expert, is an essential component of the Semel Institute. Through pioneering research and innovative programs, it is improving lives.            

The Dream Team of Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA held its first event, Summer Under the Stars, on June 21, 2012, at the London Hotel in West Hollywood. It increased awareness and encouraged philanthropic support of the hospital, raising more than $30,000 through memberships and donations. The Dream Team is a fast-paced group of like-minded young professionals who want to make a difference in children's health. For more information, visit: www.uclahealth.org/Mattel/dream-team.

Fourteen-hundred guests, including pediatric patients and their families, attended the 13th Annual Mattel Party on the Pier, benefiting Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA, on Sunday, October 21, 2012, at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier. Highlights included unlimited amusement-park rides, a silent auction featuring unique memorabilia and experiences, arts and crafts, great food and carnival games stocked with prizes donated by Mattel and run by celebrities from popular children's television shows. Proceeds support the highest priorities of Dr. Sherin Devaskar, physician-in-chief. www.partyonthepier.ucla.edu