Comedy vs Cancer

Nick Kroll, Host

Bridget Everett

Zarna Garg

Brett Goldstein

Hasan Minhaj

Erin Junkin, Co-Head of Television, WME

As Founding Chair of the MSK Entertainment Advisor Council, Erin Junkin has championed Comedy vs Cancer and helped forge a powerful connection between the entertainment industry and cancer research at MSK. This year, Comedy vs Cancer is proud to recognize her as the 2026 honoree. 

For Erin, this event is personal. When her husband, Jerome, was treated for blood cancer at MSK, their family experienced firsthand how much depends on access to world-class research and treatment options. Supporting MSK is her way of giving back to the place that helped keep her family together. It's also her way of offering hope to other families — because she knows that hope is everything when facing blood cancer.  

Dear friends, 

Welcome to Comedy vs Cancer, MSK’s official comedy benefit show for blood cancer research. Tonight promises to be a memorable evening of humor and hope, as we come together to support innovative science and celebrate the extraordinary community making this work possible. 

As a hematologist-oncologist and physician-scientist at MSK, I have the privilege of witnessing how breakthroughs move from the laboratory into the clinic as they become new treatments for patients. That progress depends on many factors, but one of the most important is philanthropy. At a time when funding for research is increasingly uncertain, philanthropic dollars provide the flexibility needed to pursue bold ideas and accelerate promising discoveries. 

The work of my colleagues across MSK reflects that spirit of innovation. The funds raised by this community in 2025 are powering five new research projects at MSK:

• Jonathan Peled, MD, PhD, is investigating how dietary sugars fuel harmful gut bacteria in patients who have had bone marrow transplants, seeking smarter ways to prevent serious infections. 
• Urvi Shah, MD, and Kylee Maclachlan, MBBCh, PhD, are exploring whether lifestyle changes can slow the progression of multiple myeloma in high-risk individuals. 
• Katharine Hsu, MD, PhD, is developing hybrid cells that combine the strengths of T cells and natural killer cells to more effectively target aggressive leukemias with fewer side effects. 
• Susan De Wolf, MD, is studying how the immune system evolves in patients with secondary acute myeloid leukemia, working to identify new ways to strengthen the body’s natural defenses. 
• Karlo Perica, MD, PhD, is engineering an off-the-shelf CAR T cell therapy that could make this advanced treatment far more accessible to patients around the world. 

Since 2019, Comedy vs Cancer has raised more than $7 million to fund studies like these. What begins as a bold research question today can become the breakthrough treatment of tomorrow — and that transformation is fueled by your support. 

Thank you for being part of this remarkable community and for believing in the power of science to change lives. Your generosity gives researchers the freedom to ask ambitious questions and pursue discoveries that bring us closer to a future where blood cancers are no longer life-threatening diseases. 

With my deepest gratitude, 

Ivan Maillard, MD, PhD 
Head of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies 
Laurence Joseph Dineen Chair in Leukemia Research 
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 

All gifts made tonight will be matched dollar for dollar to support transformative research at MSK. 

Give now

More Ways to Give

Donor Advised Funds (DAF) 

You can make your DAF gift directly through our mobile donation form. Be sure to note that your gift is to support "Comedy vs Cancer." 
Learn more about DAF gifts
 

Check, Stock, and Wire Transfers

To donate by check tonight, please approach an MSK staff member. Be sure to note that your gift is to support "Comedy vs Cancer." 
Learn more about check, stock, and wire transfer gifts
 

Corporate Matching Gift

Your company may match your donation to Comedy vs Cancer. See if your company participates.
Check if your company will match your gift

Diamond Sponsor

Emily and Len Blavatnik 

Platinum Sponsor 

JMW Family Foundation 
Mike and Sofia Segal 

Gold Sponsor 

Denis and Meredith Coleman 
Carrie and Laurence Goldberg 
Carolyn and Jon Levine 
Scott and Lisa Stuart 
Ge Li and Ning Zhao Family Foundation 

Silver Sponsor 

Grayer Family Foundation 
Erin Junkin and Jerome Hershey 
Tom and Mara Hutton 
Janice Lee and Joseph Bae 
Debra and Benjamin Polk 

Bronze Sponsor 

The Borthwick Family 
Amy and Ted Gavin 
The Guillaro Family Foundation 
Lynn and Jules Kroll 
Michael P. and Debra A. McLaughlin 
Joe Moglia and Shelly Kobb 
Heather Dunleavy Nielsen 
The North Road Company 
Erica and Kevin Penn 
Amy and Brian Pennington 
The Reddoch Family 
Shaiza Rizavi and Jonathan Friedland 
Anne Stringfield and Steve Martin 
Alyson and Daniel Sugar 
The Tylis Family Foundation 
Richard and Atlanta Warke Foundation 

Honoree Sponsor 

Tama and Brad Bernstein 
Mindy and Jon Gray 
JJR Foundation 
Sheryl and Chip Kaye 
The Madden Family 
David Netto 
Erica Olan and Darpan Kapadia 
Suzanne Peck and Brian Friedman 
Ira and Diana Riklis 
Rhonda and Robert Silver 
Don Walker 

Host Committee 

David and Nicole Abrams 
Claudia Ballard and Eddie McPike 
Dale and Max Berger 
Susan Borowitz 
Louise Braverman and Steven Glickel 
Barbara Broccoli 
Jim Capra and Linda Ransom 
Jennifer and Robert Carlock 
Dana and David Carlos 
Lisa and David Carnoy 
The Colo Family 
Kira and Alan Copperman 
Roni Cowan 
Lisa M. DeAngelis, MD and Peter M. Okin, MD 
Betsy and Dennis Dempsey 
Susan Drossman and Adam Sokoloff 
Dr. Diane Fellows 
Hilary and Joseph Feshbach 
Kelly and Scott Fink 
Dorothy Fortenberry 
Emma Fuerst Frelinghuysen 
Cindy and Brian Gavin 
Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel, Architects 
Eric Gertler 
Liane Ginsberg 
Nicole and Jonathan Gold 
Betsy and Davidson Goldin 
Ari and Andrea Greenburg 
Monica and Michael Greene 
Orit and Seth Gribetz 
Vicki Gross and Jonathan Levine 
Paul Haas 
Hanson Jacobsen Law Firm 
HBO 
Greg and Heidi Hodes 
Carolyn Hoera and Peter Tittler 
Laura Russell Hunter 
Dale Jenkins and Sandra Panem 
Nancy Josephson 
The Kern Family 
Erica and David Klinkowize 
Steven and Ellen Krieger 
Elisabeth Lachmann, MD
Hilary and Andrew Landis 
Mary Ann and John Lasky 
Brian and Joyce Lawrence 
David Linn and Kathy Carter 
Rebecca and David Mandel 
Ken Manotti 
Jessica Marinaccio 
Jennifer Mascarenhas 
Jeanne and Dennis Masel 
Cynthia and Richard McKinney 
McKuin Frankel Whitehead LLP 
Lizzie and Marc McQuade 
Debi Memmolo and Greg Taxin 
Julianne and Michael Metzger 
Jennifer and David Miner 
Lori and David Moore 
Holly Ostrov Ronai 
Lisa and Daniel Perlman 
Julia Pershan and Jonathan Cohen 
Andrea and Mark Picard 
Abby Pogrebin and David Shapiro 
Jim and Katie Robinson 
Michael and Chi Rockoff 
Rick Rosen 
Amy and Richard Ruben 
Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham LLP 
Adam Schwarz 
Martha and Matt Sharp 
Andrea and Matt Silverman 
Jonathan and Natalie Silverstein 
Jocelyn and Scott Sontag 
Nadia and Edward Sopher 
Donna and Lawrence Stern 
Joe Tansey 
Kathy and Peter Tenhula 
Tracy Thomas and Richard Bundy 
Rachel Wachs 
Debby and Peter Weinberg 
Grace and Steve Weitzer 
Joann Wright 
Lindsay and Jordan Zaken 
Dana Zucker and Brahm Cramer