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Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe: Lara Spencer, Pete Davidson and Anna Stone Light Up the 2026 Lenox Hill Brain Tumor Gala

On Thursday, June 4, Cipriani 42nd Street filled with the particular electricity of a New York benefit that knows exactly why it exists. The 2026 Lenox Hill Neurosurgery Brain Tumor Center Gala — running 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. — united medicine, science, society, and celebrity around a single urgent mission: advancing the cure for brain cancer.

Leadership With a Personal Mission

Chairing the evening was Anna Stone, whose commitment to glioblastoma awareness is deeply personal — she lost her husband to the disease and has turned grief into determined civic leadership. Her presence gave the night its emotional center: this was never just a dinner, but a public act of resolve on behalf of families facing the same fight.

Hosting was Lara Spencer, the Good Morning America anchor, returning to lend the evening her familiar national warmth. Among the special guests: Pete Davidson, whose support of Lenox Hill’s brain tumor fundraising stretches back years, along with Barbie Blank and Brunson Green. Former NBA star Jason Collins received the 2026 Josh Wexler Trailblazer Award as he continues his own battle with glioblastoma — one of the night’s most moving moments.

The Science Behind the Celebration

The medical heart of the gala was Dr. John A. Boockvar, vice chair of neurosurgery at Lenox Hill Hospital and director of its Brain Tumor Center — also known to wider audiences from Netflix’s NYC Emergency. He was joined by Dr. David J. Langer, chair of neurosurgery, and a deep bench of the program’s physicians and researchers.

The evening also honored Dr. Bruce Stillman, president and CEO of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, for extraordinary contributions to science — a reminder that the glamour in the room served a laboratory agenda: more trials, more discovery, more hope.

That agenda has momentum. The 2024 anniversary gala raised more than $1.1 million for brain tumor research; the 2025 event raised more than $1.56 million. The funds support the Brain Tumor Research Laboratory and Biotech Center, part of a program that describes itself as running more investigator-initiated clinical trials than any other brain tumor center in the world.

A Room Full of Resolve

The guest list told the story of modern medical philanthropy: top banking figures including Joseph Gunnar CEO Joseph A. Alagna with his wife Michelle, and BMO President Aron Levine, alongside doctors, scientists, donors, and families. Within Cipriani’s grand room, every table connected to the same clinical system — surgery, imaging, radiation, oncology, research, family support.

As the night unfolded, the message was unmistakable: the pursuit of a cure is a shared civic act. And on this June evening in Manhattan, that act looked — and felt — magnificent.

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Originally published on Times Square Chronicles.

Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe: Lenox Hill Brain Tumor Gala 2026: An Elegant Night at Cipriani 42nd Street for Cancer Research

On June 4, 2026, New York will host an evening where medicine meets philanthropy at the highest level. The Lenox Hill Neurosurgery Brain Tumor Center Gala takes over Cipriani 42nd Street, and it promises to be one of the defining charity nights of the year.

The invitation says everything about the tone: deep blue and white, clean lines, no noise. Just a clear purpose. Brain tumors remain among the most difficult diagnoses in medicine, and the doctors and researchers at Lenox Hill have spent years pushing treatment forward. This gala exists to give that work the funding and attention it deserves.

An Evening Built Around Purpose

Cipriani 42nd Street is a natural home for the occasion. The grand Midtown venue has hosted some of the city’s most important civic celebrations, and its soaring interiors give the night exactly the sense of occasion it calls for. Guests arrive at 6:30 PM, and the program runs through 11:30 PM — five hours designed to balance formal recognition with real conversation.

The Brain Tumor Center itself sits at the heart of the story. Part of Northwell Health and Lenox Hill Hospital, it has earned its reputation through clinical excellence and a patient-first approach to some of the hardest cases in neurosurgery. The gala carries that mission into the social sphere, inviting donors, advocates, and medical leaders to stand behind it together.

Leadership Behind the Night

Serving as Gala Co-Chair is Anna Stone, Chief Marketing Officer of Joseph Gunnar & Co. and Buttonwood Funds. Her background bridges finance and strategic communication, and her involvement signals something important: modern philanthropy works best when generosity is paired with sharp, thoughtful outreach.

Sponsorship opportunities round out the evening, giving companies and individuals a direct way to attach their names to the cause. Every contribution feeds research initiatives, patient care, and new technology — the practical machinery of progress against brain tumors.

Even the invitation’s design carries the theme. A subtle skyline motif along the base — the Statue of Liberty, the towers of Manhattan — roots the event in New York while nodding to the global reach of the research it supports.

For the doctors who will be in the room, the stakes are concrete: sustained funding for the science that saves lives. For the donors, it’s a chance to see exactly where their generosity goes. And for everyone else, it’s a reminder that behind every black-tie evening, the best ones are built on something that matters.

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Originally published on Times Square Chronicles.