THE CHAMPIONS OF MEDICAL RESEARCH8 TOP ROCK STARS AND 17 TOP SCIENTISTS SHOWCASED IN GQ’S BLOCKBUSTER DECEMBER “MEN OF THE YEAR” EDITION

November 17, 2010 – GEOFFREY BEENE GIVES BACK® and GQ Magazine have joined forces, along with the Entertainment Industry Foundation/SU2C, to bring together eight celebrity musicians—rock icon Debbie Harry (Blondie), Bret Michaels, Timbaland, Keri Hilson, Heart (Anne and Nancy Wilson), Jay Sean and B.o.B—and seventeen of the nation’s top medical researchers, including two Nobel Laureates. Each photo set is a tribute to “scientific heroes” in fields like translational cancer research, Alzheimer’s/neuro-imaging/prevention trials, heart disease/integrative medicine, autism, rare diseases, stem cell research, global health and space age research.

Dubbed Rock Stars of Science™ (ROCK S.O.S™), this special six-page, public service campaign appears in GQ’s December “Men of the Year” edition, available nationally on November 23rd.

ROCK S.O.S™ aims to bridge a serious recognition gap for science, observes journalist Chris Mooney, co-author of the recent book, Unscientific America, and a partner of the campaign.

“The current gap between science and our popular culture,” says Mooney, “keeps Americans from recognizing the centrality of science to their daily lives. They think science is some strange activity performed by slightly geeky others in white coats. In fact, science fuels our economy and is our great hope for cures to diseases that affect all of us.”

“The RSOS™ campaign shines the spotlight on this critical national issue,” says G. Thompson Hutton, CEO and Trustee of the Geoffrey Beene Foundation, supported by the designer menswear brand Geoffrey Beene, LLC, which dedicates 100 percent of net profits to philanthropic causes. “If we invest in research, we will save lives now and trillions of dollars later.”

Such comments are confirmed by Harris Interactive and Research!America surveys, which report that the public is out of touch with the scientific community. Nearly half of those polled couldn’t name a single living scientist.

“Scientists like to tell ourselves that we are too busy to worry about image,” explains Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, and one of the 2009 Rock Stars of Science™. “But the reality is that our work only has a chance of making a difference if we build a much broader base of popular support for medical research than currently exists in this country.”

“We need to tap into the psyche of a younger generation that is turning away from careers in science,” says RSOS Executive Producer, Meryl Comer. “If it takes music and rock stars to connect kids to the ‘cool’ in science, and make researchers the new heroes’ to emulate, then that’s how Geoffrey Beene will design it.”

Says Rock icon Debbie Harry of the scientific lifestyle:You have to be very tenacious, very dedicated. And that kind of mind, that kind of specialness is incredible, and we should all be aware of it.” Another featured artist, Jay Sean (@jaysean), commented: “I went on to study medicine. I was halfway through my degree; it’s when my first record deal presented itself…But I’ll always be a fan of science.”

In addition to the GQ Magazine photo spread, ROCK S.O.S™ will be supported by the website: www.rockstarsofscience.org. The site will profile the scientists, their teams, and their research institutions. Readers will also have the opportunity to celebrate their own Rock Docs, and qualify for limited edition campaign giveaways.

The 17 distinguished researchers featured in the 2010 RSOS™ GQ spread (including two Nobel laureates) are:

• Stephen B. Baylin, M.D., Deputy Director, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer
  Center, Johns Hopkins; Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) Dream Team Leader

• Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate; AACR President; Morris
  Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology in the Department of
  Biochemistry and Biophysics, UCSF;  Member, Stand Up to Cancer
  (SU2C) Scientific Advisory Committee

• Rear Admiral Susan J. Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A. (ret.),
  Former U.S. Assistant Surgeon General, Director, Health and
  Medicine, Center for the Study of the Presidency/Congress.

• Dr. Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Autism Speaks,
  Founding Director, University of Washington Autism Center.

• Frank L. Douglas, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO, Austen BioInnovation
  Institute

• Bernard A. Harris, Jr., M.D., MBA, FACP, former NASA astronaut; Founder and President, The Harris Foundation

• Catriona Jamieson, M.D., Ph.D., Asst. Professor, Medicine, Hematologic
  Malignancies, UCSD, Director, Stem Cell Research, Moores UCSD Cancer Center

• Emil Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D., President, Kakkis EveryLife Foundation

• Frank M. Longo, M.D., Ph.D., Chair, Dept of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University Medical School, Founder, Pharmatrophix.

• Joan Massaguė, Ph.D., Chair, Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Executive Committee, Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center

• Mehmet Oz, M.D., Vice-Chair and Professor of Surgery, Columbia University; Director, Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine, NYPH, Host, Doctor Oz Show

• Eric M. Reiman, M.D., Executive Director, Banner Alzheimer’s Institute and Chief
  Scientific Officer, Banner Research Institute

• Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate; Institute Professor, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, MIT; Chairperson, Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C)Scientific Advisory Committee

• Charles L. Sawyers, M.D., Chair, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Executive Committee, Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center

• Craig B. Thompson, M.D., President/CEO, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), Chairman, Executive Committee, Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center

• Mehmet Toner, Ph.D., Helen Andrus Benedict Professor of Surgery (Bioengineering), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School; SU2C Dream Team Co-leader

• Michael W. Weiner, M.D., Director, Principal Investigator, ADNI (Alzheimer’s Disease Neuro-Imaging Initiative) Professor, Medicine, Radiology, and Psychiatry,  UCSF

ROCK S.O.S™ is a trademark of the Geoffrey Beene Foundation, supported by the designer menswear brand, GEOFFREY BEENE www.geoffreybeene.com). 100% of net profits from GEOFFREY BEENE, LLC fund philanthropic causes. More than $145 million in value has been funded by Geoffrey Beene entities toward a variety of causes like Cancer, Alzheimer, Heart, Veteran’s support, welfare of women and children, protection of animals, and other critical causes.

GQ is the leading men’s general-interest magazine, with a monthly readership of 7 million readers. It is available in print, online at GQ.com, and as an app at iTunes.com. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications. Condé Nast operates in twenty-five countries and is the world leader in exceptional content creation.

The Entertainment Industry Foundation

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that serves as the collective philanthropy for the television and film businesses. EIF has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs addressing critical health, education and social issues. The SU2C movement raises funds to hasten the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives.

Contacts:
Executive Producer,
Meryl Comer: (301) 942-6655
mjmcomer@aol.com

RSOSTM Website Coordinator
Amber Roniger: 212-472-8994
amber@geoffreybeene.com

Science Communications Partner/Science Writer
Chris Mooney: 202-230-8868
moonecc@yahoo.com