The Art of Compassion

Hundreds of PCRM members and friends came out to support and raise funds for PCRM’s important work at the Art of Compassion Gala at the historic Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., on April 14. Alec Baldwin, the evening’s master of ceremonies, was joined by Marilu Henner, House’s Lisa Edelstein, Persia White of TV’s Girlfriends, musician Moby, and daytime drama stars Peggy McCay and Grant Aleksander. Partygoers enjoyed delicious vegan food catered by Sublime, Millennium, Candle 79, and macrobiotic chef Eric Lachasseur and were entertained by international music star Shani Rigsbee. Silent auction items included a personalized portrait by artist Peter Max, celebrity-autographed scrubs, a private dinner and concert donated by Alec Baldwin and Moby, and much more.

The highlight of the evening was the awards presentation. The Art of Compassion award was presented by the 2005 recipient, Nanci Alexander, to Daran Haber, M.D., for his commitment to compassion in research and medicine. David J.A. Jenkins, M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D., creator of the glycemic index, received the Benjamin Spock Award for Compassion in Medicine. And the Henry J. Heimlich Award for Innovative Medicine was presented by Dr. Heimlich himself to Randal Charlton, founder and CEO of Asterand, a biotechnology company that is revolutionizing scientific research with new non-animal testing methods.

Second Annual Cancer Symposium

Top medical researchers and health care professionals from across the nation attended The Cancer Project’s 2007 Cancer and Nutrition Symposium. Cancer Project president Neal Barnard, M.D., June Chan, Sc.D., T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., Lawrence Kushi, Sc.D., and John McDougall, M.D., spoke at the event, held in July in Bethesda, Md. Presentations from the 2006 symposium can be viewed at www.CancerProject.org.

Educating Health Care Professionals

PCRM broke new ground this year by offering continuing medical education (CME) programs for health care professionals. In April, PCRM partnered with George Washington University to offer a CME program on several topics, including cardiovascular health, diabetes management, and cancer prevention and survival. The speakers were Neal D. Barnard, M.D.; Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr., M.D.; Hope Ferdowsian, M.D., M.P.H.; David J.A. Jenkins, M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D.; Gordon Saxe, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.; and Caroline Trapp, M.S.N., A.P.R.N., B.C.-ADM, C.D.E. More than 200 health care professionals attended.

PCRM also partnered with the Medical Education Collaborative to offer CME programs on the use of vegan diets for diabetes in Bethesda, Md., San Antonio, Atlanta, and Ann Arbor, Mich. The courses focused on the science base for vegan diets and tools for implementing this approach with patients.