MANHASSET, NEW YORK — Almost 1,000 of Long Island’s most influential residents recently joined legendary singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins in getting “footloose” to support The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. The fourth installment of the North Shore-LIJ Health System’s annual fundraising event, which took place July 15 at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay and featured a buffet dinner, cocktails and Loggins as its headliner, raised $1 million in support of the state-of-the-art facility.

Loggins was not the only one to take the stage that night. Lawrence Gottesman, owner/president of Lawrence Scott Events and one of New York’s premier party event planners, generously underwrote the pre-concert party in celebration of his company’s 25th anniversary. In recognition of this contribution, Dr. Kevin J. Tracey, director and chief executive of the Feinstein Institute, announced that the 2009 Fellowship Award had been named in Gottesman’s honor.

Gottesman then presented Sun Jung Kim, PhD, with the award. Dr. Kim studies  auto-immune disease and concentrates on special cells of the immune system that act as “gate-keepers” to attack invaders that enter the body. Dr. Kim’s research at The Feinstein Institute is providing new insight into diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. The award will grant her an independent research program.

 Established in 1999, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is among the top six percent of the nation’s 3,400 institutions receiving money for research. In late 2008, the institute celebrated the opening of a 56,250-square-foot wing—and a new era in clinical research—made possible through a generous donation by Susan and Leonard Feinstein. The new four-story building houses additional laboratory space and the 300-seat Victoria and Lloyd Goldman International Conference Center, which brings world-renowned scientists and forums home to Long Island.

Contact: Steve Bontempo
(516) 465-2580
sbontempo@nshs.edu