The 24th Annual MS Center Celebration, which benefits the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis at Mount Sinai, was held on Thursday, March 5, at The Metropolitan Club in Manhattan.
Navin and Renu Gupta, MD, recipients of the 2026 Clifford H. Goldsmith Award, at the annual MS Celebration.
The annual celebration recognizes the triumphant work the Center performs daily to improve the lives of individuals living with MS through compassionate patient care, groundbreaking research, and exceptional training for future leaders in the field.
More than 200 guests attended this year’s gala, which is vital to the philanthropic efforts that keep the Center at the forefront of groundbreaking MS care, and raised approximately $465,000.
This year’s honorees, Renu Gupta, MD, and Navin Gupta, were recognized for their 20-plus years of dedication to the Center and its mission. Center Director Fred D. Lublin, MD, FAAN, FANA, presented the Guptas with the Clifford H. Goldsmith Award, named in honor of the Center’s visionary co-founder.
“Renu and Navin Gupta are wonderful people who raised three wonderful children in Meruka, Kernika, and Ankur,” Dr. Lublin told guests. “They have been champions of the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center from the very beginning, and their steadfast support has been essential to the Center’s prodigious growth.”
In the event’s invitation, the Guptas’ daughter, Meruka Hazari, MD, who was first diagnosed with MS in May 2001 and has been a patient of the Center since its inception six months later, shared a heartfelt message, “To know my mom and dad is to love them, and this recognition is entirely befitting. They have been unrelenting in ensuring that I receive the best possible care. I am profoundly grateful to have the most dedicated and loving parents, who quietly support me through all aspects of life, who strive to make the world a better place for all suffering from MS, and who have taught and re-taught me how to walk, countless times.”
From the stage, the Guptas described their family’s MS journey and expressed their gratitude for the Center and all its work on behalf of multiple sclerosis patients everywhere.
The event’s speakers also included Ilana Katz Sand, MD, Associate Director of the Center; Stephen Krieger, MD, Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Aaron Miller, MD, Medical Director of the Center and Professor of Neurology. All of them emphasized the vital role of philanthropy in making the Center a success.
“Without philanthropy, there would be no way we could accomplish the things we want to do at the Center,” Dr. Miller said in a video featuring patient testimonials that premiered during the event.
“I am incredibly proud that we are not only the largest MS Center in New York, but that we are a global leader,” Dr. Lublin, also the Saunders Family Professor of Neurology, said during his opening remarks. “Our emphasis on holistic, personalized treatment is what sets us apart, and each and every day we strive to provide our patients with hope and comfort—while also advancing new discoveries that will benefit future patients and their families.”
The Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis at Mount Sinai now has more than 4,000 active patients, with more than 7,500 patient visits each year. Many of those patients—like Dr. Hazari—have been with the Center since it first opened its doors in December 2001.
The Center must continue to grow and secure the resources needed to pursue its relentless quest to push the boundaries of what is possible in MS care. Standing on the brink of even more innovative breakthroughs, donor support will be crucial to fulfilling this vision.
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