The Society of MSK’s Fall Lunch Brings Fashion, Philanthropy And Cancer Research Together At The Rainbow Room
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By PAGE Editor
On October 1, The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center brought together members of New York’s philanthropic, fashion, media, and medical communities for its 2026 Fall Lunch at the Rainbow Room. Sponsored by Oscar de la Renta, the annual gathering offered more than a moment on the city’s social calendar—it created a platform for advancing research into what happens after one of the most intensive interventions in cancer care.
This year’s Fall Lunch Initiative, Restoring Immune Health After Bone Marrow Transplantation, focused on an often-overlooked part of recovery. While bone marrow transplantation can be lifesaving for patients with cancer and other serious diseases, rebuilding a functioning immune system can take time, leaving patients vulnerable to serious infections and, in some cases, the recurrence of cancer.
TV News Anchor Gigi Woods and MSK’s Dr. Ivan Maillard and Dr. Jaap-Jap Boelens.
The initiative is supporting research led by Ivan Maillard, MD, PhD, Head of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies at Memorial Sloan Kettering; Jaap-Jan Boelens, MD, PhD, Chief of the Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Therapy Service; and Leena Babiker, PhD, Research Scholar and Post-Doctoral Fellow in Dr. Maillard’s laboratory. Their work seeks to better understand immune recovery and identify ways to improve outcomes for both adult and pediatric transplant patients.
TV news anchor and business reporter Gigi Stone Woods moderated a conversation with the three researchers, bringing the science behind the initiative into focus for an audience more accustomed to the language of philanthropy, fashion, and culture. The discussion underscored a central reality of cancer care: survival is not necessarily the end of treatment. For many patients, what follows can be its own complex medical journey.
The afternoon also reflected the breadth of The Society of MSK’s community. Jenna Bush Hager, Deborah Norville, Zanna Roberts Rassi, Sarah Sze, and Woods were among the guests gathered alongside MSK physicians, researchers, supporters, and members of The Society. The event was led by Martha Sharp, President of The Society of MSK, and Marcella Hymowitz, Chair of the Associates Committee, with Fall Lunch Chairs Kate Allen, Sarah Britton, Melissa Crandall, Austen Cruz, Gillian Hearst, Shabnam Henry, Barkley Hickox, and Dustee Jenkins.
Founded in 1946, The Society of MSK has built its mission around a straightforward but consequential premise: philanthropy can help move medicine forward. Its volunteers work alongside MSK physicians and staff to support patient care, cancer research, education, prevention, early detection, and treatment.
That relationship between giving and discovery is particularly important at an institution operating at the intersection of clinical care and scientific research. Memorial Sloan Kettering treats more than 400 types of cancer and has nearly 2,000 clinical trials underway, extending its influence beyond New York to patients and medical communities around the world.
At the Rainbow Room, the familiar architecture of a New York philanthropic lunch took on a more consequential dimension. Fashion provided the setting, community provided the audience, and research remained the reason for gathering. Through its 2026 initiative, The Society of MSK is directing that collective attention toward a specific challenge in cancer recovery—helping patients not simply survive transplantation, but regain the immune health necessary to move forward.
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The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s 2026 Fall Lunch united New York’s philanthropic and cultural communities at the Rainbow Room to support groundbreaking research focused on restoring immune health for adult and pediatric patients following bone marrow transplantation.