STAMFORD – Rabbi Andrew Sklarz of Greenwich Reform Synagogue will be the first honoree of the Connecticut chapter of the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) at the organization’s 2016 Heroes Award Dinner, Sunday, Nov. 20, 5:30 p.m., Temple Sinai in Stamford.

The event will also feature Israel Cancer Research Fund Hero Dan Peer, professor and director of the Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine at Tel Aviv University and chair of Tel Aviv University Cancer Biology Research Center. Rabbi Mark Golub of Jewish Broadcast Services will serve as master of ceremonies. The evening will also highlight the work of local Israeli artists Liron Sissman and Bracha Silber, among others.

According to David Kweskin, ICRF Connecticut Area director, Sklarz is being honored for his compassion and concern for others. A spiritual leader, social worker, psychotherapist, and author, Sklarz has waged his own battle with cancer and has also helped others stricken with cancer and AIDS by raising research funds for life-saving treatments.

“The theme of the evening is ‘Heroes,’” says Kweskin. “In Israel, ICRF-funded scientists, such as Professor Dan Peer, are researching new treatments and cures for cancer and coming up with winning solutions; here in Connecticut our heroes are people like Rabbi Sklarz, who possesses a true love for humanity. He connects with those in crisis, offering support and spiritual counseling as well as a message of inclusivity.’’

“I am very pleased to be honored by an organization whose mission is to support cancer programs in Israel, which have enabled me and many others to survive and thrive,” said Sklarz.

As the evening’s keynote speaker, Peer will talk about harnessing naonomedicines for therapeutic gene silencing. His work was among the first to demonstrate systemic delivery of cancer drugs using targeted nanocarriers, which has had a major impact on fighting cancer and inflammation.

The Israel Cancer Research Fund is the single largest source of private funds for cancer research in Israel. Since its establishment in 1975, it has provided 2,300 grants totaling $60 million to scientists at leading research institutions in Israel. ICRF grantees have earned distinguished honors including the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, The G. H. A. Clowes Award from the American Association for Cancer Research, The Gairdner International Award, the Lasker Award in Basic Medical Research and the Israel Prize.

ICRF-funded research has helped lead to the development of life-saving drugs such as Gleevec, Doxil and Velcad, and has helped identify the location and chemical nature of the p53 tumor-suppressor gene and the identification of the Philadelphia Chromosome, the first abnormal chromosome found in leukemia.

For more information, on the ICRF Heroes Dinner contact David Kweskin at (203) 321-1006, David.Kweskin@icrfonline.org; or register online at www.icrfonline.org.