Bay Area Doctor, Emil Kakkis, Honored as a 2010 Rock Star of Science in GQ's Blockbuster December 'Men of the Year' Edition

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- GEOFFREY BEENE GIVES BACK™ and GQ Magazine have joined forces, along with the Entertainment Industry Foundation, to bring together eight celebrity musicians and seventeen of the nation's top medical researchers, including two Nobel Laureates. Each pairing is a tribute to "scientific heroes" in fields like translational cancer research, Alzheimer's/neuro-imaging/prevention trials, heart disease/integrative medicine, autism, rare diseases, stem cell research, global health and space age research.

Emil Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D. is one of those honored physicians, paired with rock star Jay Sean. Dr. Kakkis is president of the Kakkis EveryLife Foundation in Novato, Calif. and has devoted his career to finding treatments for rare diseases and fast-tracking those treatments from research phase to market.  He developed a treatment for the rare disease MPS I early in his career that drove his interest in the development of many more rare disease treatments.

"It is very important for young people to know that science is cool and that these rock stars are putting their names and faces behind our need for more scientists," Kakkis notes. "I think that young people considering science should know that science is not all figured out and written in a book somewhere, and that in fact so much is still unknown, waiting for them to discover."

"There are thousands of rare diseases without treatments, and we need many new brilliant, creative and cool rule-breakers to challenge what we know and save people with an untreated disease.  There is nothing more gratifying and cool than doing that.  I know because it happened to me."

In early 2009 Dr. Kakkis founded the Kakkis EveryLife Foundation to accelerate the process for bringing new rare disease treatments to the patients who need them.  Dr. Kakkis worked with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Congress to improve the regulatory process for rare diseases.  His efforts and goals were recognized in Congress by the Brown/Brownback Amendment to the 2010 and 2011 FDA appropriation bills.  The bills require the FDA to review and improve rare disease regulatory policies.  

ROCK S.O.S™ aims to bridge a serious recognition gap for science observes journalist Chris Mooney, co-author of the recent book Unscientific America, and a partner of the campaign. "The current gap between science and our popular culture," says Mooney, "keeps Americans from recognizing the centrality of science to their daily lives. They think science is some strange activity performed by slightly geeky others in white coats.  In fact, science fuels our economy and is our great hope for cures to diseases that affect all of us."  

"The RSOS™ campaign shines the spotlight on this critical national issue," says G. Thompson Hutton, CEO and Trustee of the Geoffrey Beene Foundation, supported by the designer menswear brand Geoffrey Beene, LLC, which dedicates 100 percent of net profits to philanthropic causes. "If we invest in research, we will save lives now and trillions of dollars later."

Such comments are confirmed by Harris Interactive and Research!America surveys, which report that the public is out of touch with the scientific community.  Nearly half of those polled couldn't name a single living scientist.

"Scientists must venture outside their comfort zones to show the public how cool—and how important—their work really is," said Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, and one of the 2009 Rock Stars of Science. "I'm thrilled to see all of these big-name musicians using their star power to shine a spotlight on science. However, it is only the beginning. I urge every scientist get into the act by telling friends, neighbors, community leaders, and elected officials about his or her research and what it means for our nation's health. Imagine how powerful that would be."

"We need to tap into the psyche of a younger generation that is turning away from careers in science," says RSOS™ Executive Producer Meryl Comer. "If it takes music and rock stars to connect kids to the 'cool' in science, and make researchers the new 'heroes' to emulate, then that's how Geoffrey Beene will design it."

Says Rock icon Debbie Harry of the scientific lifestyle: "You have to be very tenacious, very dedicated. And that kind of mind, that kind of specialness is incredible, and we should all be aware of it." Another featured artist, Jay Sean (@jaysean), commented: "I went on to study medicine. I was halfway through my degree; it's when my first record deal presented itself ... But I'll always be a fan of science."  

Rock Stars of Science™ (ROCK S.O.S™), appears in GQ's December "Men of the Year" edition, available nationally on November 23rd.

In addition to the GQ Magazine photo spread, ROCK S.O.S™ will be supported by the website: www.rockstarsofscience.org.  The site will profile the scientists, their teams, and their research institutions.  Readers will also have the opportunity to celebrate their own Rock Docs, and qualify for limited edition campaign giveaways.  

ROCK S.O.S™ is a trademark of the Geoffrey Beene Foundation, supported by the designer menswear brand, GEOFFREY BEENE (www.geoffreybeene.com). 100% of net profits from GEOFFREY BEENE, LLC fund philanthropic causes.  More than $145 million in value has been funded by Geoffrey Beene entities toward a variety of causes like Cancer, Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, Veteran's support, welfare of women and children, protection of animals, and other critical causes.  

GQ is the leading men's general-interest magazine, with a monthly readership of 7 million readers. It is available in print, online at GQ.com, and as an app at iTunes.com. The magazine is published by Conde Nast, a division of Advance Publications. Conde Nast operates in twenty-five countries and is the world leader in exceptional content creation.  

The Entertainment Industry Foundation

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that serves as the collective philanthropy for the television and film businesses. EIF has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs addressing critical health, education and social issues. The SU2C movement raises funds to hasten the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives.  

SOURCE Kakkis EveryLife Foundation

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