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Photos: The Nation's Leading Scientists and Top Rock Stars Shine a Spotlight on the Promise of Medical Research

Posted on: Friday, 22 May 2009, 07:59 CDT

GEOFFREY BEENE GIVES BACK(R) and GQ Magazine Launch Public Service Campaign with Designer Menswear Photo Feature

WASHINGTON, May 22 /PRNewswire/ --- GEOFFREY BEENE GIVES BACK(R) and GQ Magazine have joined forces to bring celebrity rock stars like nine-time Grammy Award winner, Sheryl Crow, and some of the nation's leading medical researchers in areas like cancer, HIV-AIDS, heart disease, Alzheimer's, genetics and personalized medicine together to showcase the need for greater funding and to capture the imagination of the next generation of "Rock Stars of Science" in the making. The public service campaign, called Rock Stars of Science (ROCK S.O.S.), will be launched through a special 6-page sponsored photo spread in the June issue of GQ Magazine, available nationally on May 25.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/harrywadeconsulting/38571/

ROCK S.O.S. aims to bridge a serious recognition gap that, according to a recent Harris Interactive survey for Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, makes Britney Spears more influential than Stephen Hawking among most Americans. In fact, an earlier survey commissioned by the national organization, Research!America, found that nearly three-fourths of those polled could not name a single living scientist.

"It's not everyday that Platinum selling artists have a chance to jam with Nobel Prize winners and recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but maybe we should," said Sheryl Crow. "What these scientists are doing to fight diseases like breast cancer is just as much driven by inspiration and a passion for humanity as the best song ever written. Without our realizing it, they are quietly making everyone's life healthier and fuller, so we all owe them our deepest respect and support."

Along with Sheryl Crow, ROCK S.O.S. features Grammy-nominated Josh Groban, hip hop artist and X-Men Origins: Wolverine co-star Will-i-am, Aerosmith's Joe Perry and multi-Platinum seller, Seal. Featured researchers include:

• Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, former Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Harold Varmus, MD, Nobel Prize winner for discovery of cancer genes, former director of the National Institutes of Health, and advisor to President Obama and Gates Foundation (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)
• Anthony S. Fauci, MD, global expert on HIV/AIDS and key advisor to the White House and Department of Health and Human Services on infectious diseases and global health (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health)
• David B. Agus, MD, leading researcher and entrepreneur in personalized medicine for major diseases like cancer (University of Southern California)
• Rudy Tanzi, PhD, discoverer of major new genes related to Alzheimer's (Harvard Medical School)
• Eric J. Topol, MD, pioneer in genomics-based cardiology (Scripps Translational Science Institute)
• Ron Petersen, MD, clinician, Alzheimer's investigator; President Ronald Reagan's personal physician (Mayo Clinic)
• Steven T. DeKosky, MD, pioneer in early detection of Alzheimer's (University of Virginia School of Medicine)
• Sam Gandy, MD, PhD, researcher developing drugs for prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's (Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center)
• Dale Schenk, PhD, inventor of the vaccination approach for the treatment of Alzheimer's (Elan Pharmaceuticals)
• Jeffrey Cummings, MD, modernizer of brain function measurements (Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research at UCLA)

"Scientists like to tell ourselves that we are too busy to worry about image. 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. That has to include more public pressure for congressional funding of research and more commitment to developing scientific leadership for the next century," explained Dr. Francis S. Collins, one of the featured Rock Stars of Science. "So if that means I have to break out my old guitar, get dressed up and play with some of my all time favorite musicians - well, it's a tough job, but someone has to do it."

In addition to the GQ Magazine photo feature, ROCK S.O.S. will be supported by a website www.rockstarsofscience.org, to be launched on June 1, 2009. The site will profile the scientists, their teams and research institutions. Readers will also have the opportunity to sign a declaration calling for more funding for science research, nominate their own Rock Stars of Science, and qualify for limited edition campaign giveaways. "ROCK S.O.S. helps to mobilize Americans in a number of ways to end this moment in history when our greatest minds and dedicated public servants are too often overlooked," explained Meryl Comer, President of the GEOFFREY BEENE GIVES BACK(R) Alzheimer's Initiative and campaign coordinator. "We are so close to simply too many dramatic breakthroughs against the diseases that threaten our future to lose ground now. Whatever it takes, we must send the S.O.S. -- which doubles as 'Support Our Science'."

ROCK S.O.S. is made possible by the designer menswear brand, GEOFFREY BEENE with a unique business model of corporate giving. One hundred percent of net profits from GEOFFREY BEENE, LLC fund philanthropic causes. Today, the GEOFFREY BEENE Foundation and the GEOFFREY BEENE Brand have supported over $145 million in charitable commitments to a variety of medical causes including the lead recipient, the GEOFFREY BEENE Cancer Research Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Additional charitable support goes to its Alzheimer's Initiative, the GoRed For Women campaign, signature CFDA and YMA Fashion Scholarships, Veterans' support, protection of animals, and the welfare of women and children, in partnership with Macy's through the Family Violence Prevention Fund. For more information, contact: www.geoffreybeene.com.

GQ Magazine is the leading men's general-interest magazine with a monthly readership of 6.1 million readers. The magazine is published by Conde Nast Publications. For more information, contact: www.gqconnects.com.

SOURCE GEOFFREY BEENE GIVES BACK(R)

Source: PR Newswire

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