Ways to give

Illuminate the night

SIR Foundation extends its thanks to all who attended the 2024 SIR Foundation Gala in Salt Lake City.

The gala supports SIR Foundation’s mission of advancing scientific knowledge, increasing the number of skilled investigators, and developing innovative therapies that lead to improved patient care and quality of life. By attending, members directly impact the future of science and the next generation of IR.

Throughout the evening, SIR Foundation successfully raised an additional $70,000 through their text-to-give campaign. This was the highest grossing gala SIR Foundation has ever held. This money goes toward funding the future of IR through grants opportunities and promotes research and mentorship within the field.

A  very special thank you to all the CAP partners who sponsored this event: Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Merit Medical and Penumbra at the Platinum level; BD at the Gold level; Siemens Healthineers and Varian at the Silver level; and Argon, Cook Medical Guerbet, Inari and Trisalus at the Bronze level.

During the Gala, John Lipman, MD, FSIR, was congratulated on receiving the Frederick S. Keller, MD, Philanthropy Award for his generous donation to uterine fibroid research, which he announced at last year’s gala.

“There’s been very little fibroid research, despite the fact that it impacts a huge number of women—African-American women in particular,” said Dr. Lipman. “I made my donation because I wanted to do my best to make an impact where I could … The recognition isn’t something I thought of when giving my gift, but I do hope that this will inspire other IRs, especially private-practice IRs like me, to do what they can.”

This year’s gala also highlighted the new the EMBOLIZE Trial, co-sponsored by SIR Foundation and The VIVA Foundation, with support from Penumbra.

The SIR Foundation Gala 2023 was held at the Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch, a AAA Four-Diamond Resort, on March 5, 2023 in Scottsdale, Az. The rustic, Spanish-inspired décor provided an impressive backdrop for outdoor cocktails with both a large, uncovered garden as well as covered patio space. Guests enjoyed an evening of locally inspired cuisine, entertainment, and a visit from two Arizona natives, Corona and Bonita. The burros greeted guests as they entered the gala and were gracious enough to pose for multiple selfies.

SIR Foundation was proud to honor Erik N.K. Cressman, MD, PhD, FSIR as the 2023 Frederick S. Keller, MD, Philanthropy Award winner. This award honors an individual who, through exceptional generosity and through inspiring others to give, demonstrates outstanding commitment to SIR Foundation. Harjit Singh, MD, FSIR also took the stage to discuss SIR Foundation Clinical Research.

Lastly, the gala featured breaking news, with the announcement of a surprise donor and the creation of two new SIR Foundation programs. John Lipman, MD, FSIR, made a major gift to SIR Foundation which honors two IR luminaries and will drive uterine fibroid research forward. The gift supports 4 years of funding for the new Dr. Scott C. Goodwin Uterine Artery Embolization Grant and 5 years of funding for the Dr. James B. Spies Global Summit on Uterine Fibroid and Adenomyosis Research. Both Dr. Spies and Dr. Goodwin were unaware of the new programs being developed in their honor. Only their wives were aware of what was going to happen. After the surprise announcement, both Drs. Spies and Goodwin took to the stage to address attendees and spoke eloquently on the importance of fibroid research. 

After the Gala ended, the beautiful flower arrangements were repurposed and hand delivered by PJ's Flowers to local area nursing homes.