Psoriasis Foundation Gala Raises $1.5M+ | Commit to Cure

Key takeaways:

• The National Psoriasis Foundation held its annual Commit to Cure Gala to raise funds for psoriatic disease research.
• This year’s honorees included Joel M. Gelfand, MD.

The National Psoriasis Foundation raised more than $1.5 million during its annual Commit to Cure galabreaking previous fundraising records and furthering ongoing efforts to find a cure for psoriatic disease.

The gala, which took place June 18 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City, honored the “bold leadership and impact” of three designated honorees this year, including Healio Dermatology’s Chief Medical Editor Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, FAAD, the James J. Leyden Professor of Clinical Investigation and professor of dermatology and epidemiology at University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.

The National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) chose Gelfand, a longtime leader in the psoriasis field, for his commitment to “cure psoriatic disease and improve the lives of all those affected.”

Leah Howard

“In my 13 years at NPF, the 2025 Commit to Cure Gala stands out as our most successful event in recent organizational history,” Leah Howard, president and CEO of the NPF, told Healio. “Our very deserving honorees were deeply engrained in the NPF community, and they have each played a key role in driving NPF’s remarkable progress over the last few years. In that way, I think our acknowledgement and celebration of our community’s advancement has also helped stoke feelings of hope and optimism for the future we have been working toward for more than 55 years: Driving efforts to cure this disease and improve the lives of every person impacted by psoriatic disease.”

During his acceptance speech, Gelfand touted the NPF’s pivotal role in advocating for treatment and support.

“If not for the NPF, psoriasis would still be considered a cosmetic disease, not covered by insurance companies,” Gelfand said. “If not for the NPF, WHO would not recognize psoriasis as a serious, noncontagious, noninfectious disease. If it were not for the NPF, the CDC would not collect data on psoriasis that demonstrated the public health burden. That is critical for policymakers, who are making decisions about how to fund this field.”

Gelfand has worked closely with the foundation for 20 years on various initiatives and was a co-author of psoriasis treatment guidelines. Gelfand also led an effort to educate clinicians about how to treat people with psoriasis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I want to thank science and people who believe in science, do science and fund science,” Gelfand said during his acceptance speech. “Science is our way forward to new treatments, progress and cures.”

In addition to Gelfand, the foundation also honored Carol Ostrow, the founder of Stop the Wind Theatricals, an independent production company, and Jose U. Scher, MD, the Steere Abramson Professor of Medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where he serves as director of the Psoriatic Arthritis Center.

For more information about the Commit to Cure gala, visit https://www.psoriasis.org/commit-to-cure-gala/ or check out the NPF on LinkedIn here.