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The New York City Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has announced John P. Leonard, MD, of Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian as its 2016 Manhattan Light The Night^® corporate chair. Light The Night is LLS's largest annual fundraising event held each fall to find cures and provide access to treatments for blood cancer patients.

Dr. Leonard is the Richard T. Silver Distinguished Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Associate Dean for Clinical Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. He is Vice Chairman for Clinical Research of the Weill Department of Medicine and Associate Director of Clinical Trials in the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine. He is also an Attending Physician and Chief of the Lymphoma Service at NewYork-Presbyterian and Director of the Joint Clinical Trials Office at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

An expert in hematology and oncology, Dr. Leonard's research has been published in numerous medical journals, and he has served as a member of the editorial boards of Blood and the Journal of Clinical Oncology, leading international journals in these fields. He is Chair of the Lymphoma Committee of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (formerly CALGB, ACOSOG and NCCTG), a multicenter cooperative group and key component of the National Cancer Institute's National Clinical Trials Network. Dr. Leonard has been an elected member of the American Board of Internal Medicine subspecialty board for Hematology, and he has also been elected to membership in the American Society of Clinical Investigation. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the New York City Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

"Supporting Light The Night is a powerful way to partner with LLS to raise critical funds for blood cancer research," said Dr. Leonard. "I am honored to serve as the chair and look forward to encouraging other organizations and businesses to join me in supporting LLS by participating in Light The Night."

Each year, Light The Night brings together friends, family members and co-workers who form fundraising teams to support lifesaving research and improve the quality of lives of patients and their families. Participants in nearly 200 communities across North America join together carrying illuminated lanterns to take steps to end cancer – white for survivors, red for supporters and gold in memory of loved ones lost to cancer.

Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian will host the 2016 Manhattan Light The Night event, which will be held on Thursday, October 6^th beginning at 5:30pm at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Information on registering and volunteering can be found at www.lightthenight.org/nyc.

"When a loved one hears the words 'you have cancer,' it is a dark and scary time," said Michele Przypyszny, Executive Director of LLS's New York City Chapter. "LLS's Light The Night Walk brings light to the darkness of cancer through hope, research and support for patients, families, friends, doctors, nurses, researchers, colleagues and care givers."

LLS is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancers. Through its efforts, it has invested more than $1 billion in cutting-edge research to advance therapies. Thanks to research, survival rates for patients with many blood cancers have doubled, tripled and even quadrupled since the early 1960s. Yet, despite these advances, about one third of patients with blood cancer still do not survive even five years after their diagnosis.

To learn more, contact LLS's New York City Chapter at 212.376.5141, or visit www.lightthenight.org/nyc.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ® (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Rye Brook, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.

Weill Cornell Medicine

Weill Cornell Medicine is committed to excellence in patient care, scientific discovery and the education of future physicians in New York City and around the world. The doctors and scientists of Weill Cornell Medicine — faculty from Weill Cornell Medical College, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and Weill Cornell Physician Organization — are engaged in world-class clinical care and cutting-edge research that connect patients to the latest treatment innovations and prevention strategies. Located in the heart of the Upper East Side's scientific corridor, Weill Cornell Medicine's powerful network of collaborators extends to its parent university Cornell University; to Qatar, where an international campus offers a U.S. medical degree; and to programs in Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Weill Cornell Medicine faculty provide comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens. Weill Cornell Medicine is also affiliated with Houston Methodist. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.

NewYork-Presbyterian

NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the nation's most comprehensive healthcare delivery networks, focused on providing innovative and compassionate care to patients in the New York metropolitan area and throughout the globe. In collaboration with two renowned medical school partners, Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, NewYork-Presbyterian is consistently recognized as a leader in medical education, groundbreaking research and clinical innovation.

NewYork-Presbyterian has four major divisions: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is ranked #1 in the New York metropolitan area by U.S. News and World Report and repeatedly named to the magazine's Honor Roll of best hospitals in the nation; NewYork-Presbyterian Regional Hospital Network is comprised of leading hospitals in and around New York and delivers high-quality care to patients throughout the region; NewYork-Presbyterian Physician Services connects medical experts with patients in their communities; and NewYork-Presbyterian Community and Population Health features the hospital's ambulatory care network sites and operations, community care initiatives and healthcare quality programs, including NewYork Quality Care, established by NewYork-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell and Columbia.

NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the largest healthcare providers in the U.S. Each year, nearly 29,000 NewYork-Presbyterian professionals deliver exceptional care to more than 2 million patients.

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