2026 Double Helix Medals dinner raises $6.5 million

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) hosted the 21st annual Double Helix Medals dinner at New York City's Cipriani 25 Broadway. Emceed by popular science influencers Brian Greene and Tracy Day, the event raised $6.5 million for CSHL's biological research and education programs. This year's gala honored biomedical research pioneer Dr. Kevin J. Tracey and visionary philanthropist Michael Milken.

Kevin Tracey is the President and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and Executive Vice President for Research at Northwell Health, where his lab focuses on the intersection of immunology and neuroscience. He is widely recognized as the father of bioelectronic medicine, which harnesses the body's electrical impulses to treat disease. Tracey's breakthrough discovery of the inflammatory reflex, a natural circuit through which the central nervous system controls the immune system, led to FDA approval of an implantable medical device for patients with treatment-resistant rheumatoid arthritis.

"I am honored to receive the Double Helix Medal and to join a group of scientists and leaders I have long admired," Tracey says. "This recognition also belongs to my colleagues in the lab and in industry and to the physicians and patients who took a chance on a new idea. That idea is now a treatment, and it is also a new beginning."

Michael Milken is the creator of the Milken Institute, founder of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, co-founder of the Melanoma Research Alliance, and a leading force in medical research philanthropy. With his support, the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has become the world's leading philanthropic organization dedicated to funding lifesaving prostate cancer research, raising more than $1 billion for this cause since 1993. Milken is also the founder and chair of FasterCures, which works to speed progress against all life-threatening diseases.

During the ceremony, Milken announced the establishment of a Young Investigator Award at CSHL through the Michael and Lori Milken Family Foundation. Supported by a three-year fellowship at $100,000 per year, the award will provide critical funding and mentorship to accelerate research innovation.

"My primary motivation in life is to make sure my grandchildren, and everyone else's grandchildren, grow up in a world that's free of many diseases," Milken says. "It's remarkable to see the advancements. And if my grandchildren will someday have to go to the textbooks to find out what cancer is—what could be better than that?"

The 2026 Double Helix Medals dinner was underwritten by Mr. and Mrs. David Boies, Mr. and Mrs. John Desmarais, Ms. Elizabeth McCaul and Mr. Francis Ingrassia, Ms. Ivana Stolnik-Lourie and Dr. Robert Lourie, Dr. Marcia Kramer Mayer, Dr. Marilyn H. Simons, and Mr. and Mrs. Paul J. Taubman. The event was chaired by Ms. Jamie Nicholls and Mr. O. Francis Biondi, Ms. Donna Bailenson and Mr. Eddie Chernoff, Ms. Barbara Amonson and Dr. Vincent Della Pietra, Dr. Pamela Hurst-Della Pietra and Dr. Stephen Della Pietra, Mrs. Virginia Knott, Dr. and Mrs. Tomislav Kundic, and Dr. and Mrs. Howard L. Morgan.

Since the inaugural gala in 2006, the Double Helix Medals dinner has raised $96 million to support CSHL's research and education programs.

About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is one of the world's most renowned institutions for biomedical research and education. Founded in 1890 and located on the North Shore of Long Island, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit inspires curiosity, discovery, and innovation across the life sciences. For more information, visit www.cshl.edu.

SOURCE Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory