Dr. Eleanor Ramos

Honoree

Leni Ramos, MD, is the former Chief Medical Officer of Provention Bio where she led the clinical and regulatory team that facilitated the FDA approval of teplizumab (TZIELD) for the delay in the onset of clinical diabetes in patients with Stage 2 T1D.

She is a transplant nephrologist by training and has been in the biopharma industry for almost 3 decades developing novel therapies in the areas of solid organ transplantation, autoimmunity, virology (influenza and CMV) and hematology (sickle cell disease). Prior to Provention (acquired by Sanofi), Leni was employed in positions with increasing scope and responsibilities at BMS, Roche, ZymoGenetics (acquired by BMS), Theraclone Sciences and Global Blood Therapeutics (acquired by Pfizer) where she supported the clinical development of mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept), daclizumab (Zenapax), belatacept (Nulojix) and voxeletor (Oxbryta).

If you would like to make a Fund A Cure donation in honor of Leni, please visit her donation page.

Dr. Francisco Leon

Honoree

Francisco Leon, MD, PhD, is the Founder and CEO of Tolerance Bio, focused on restoring and preserving the function of the thymus, which has the potential to prevent and treat T1D. He is also the Co-founder and Chairman of Paulex Bio, focused on prevention and treatment of T1D and T2D.

Francisco is a clinical and basic immunologist with a long career in academia (NIH), biopharma (BMS, MedImmune/AZ, Janssen/JNJ) and as an entrepreneur – as CEO, CMO and CSO of several companies.

He has led or participated in the development of 6 drugs which reached the market, most recently teplizumab (TZIELD®) for the delay or prevention of the onset of clinical type 1 diabetes, as C0-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Provention Bio, acquired by Sanofi in 2023.

If you would like to make a Fund A Cure donation in honor of Francisco, please visit his donation page.

The Madonick Family

Honoree

The Madonick family lives in northern NJ.  Brian has worked on Wall Street for over 30 years and he is currently a senior research analyst with Voya Investment Management. Dina worked in the financial services industry prior to having children.  Since 2008, in addition to raising her children, she has held numerous volunteer positions in her children’s schools, her local synagogue, and, most importantly, Breakthrough T1D.  Brandon is 16 and a high school sophomore, and Sabrina is 14 and a high school freshman.  They are both basketball fanatics and play on their high school teams as well as club teams in the off-season.  Macy, a King Charles Cavalier puppy, is the newest member of the Madonick family.  She joined the family last August and brings so much joy to everyone she encounters.

The Madonick Family has been a part of our chapter since 2014 when they attended their first gala and participated in their first walk as the Madonick Monsters.  The positive experiences they had at these events encouraged them to participate in more opportunities and their involvement with Breakthrough T1D grew exponentially!  Dina has been a member of the chapter Board of Directors for the past 7 years and currently co-chairs the Gala auction committee and the All in for our Heroes committee.  In 2018, Brian and Dina co-chaired the Gala at Met Life Stadium, and Brandon has served as a Youth Ambassador for 4 years, sharing his T1D story and volunteering at chapter events.  Their entire family is committed to helping Breakthrough T1D achieve its goals and they are so grateful to their family and friends who have joined them on this journey.  To learn more about the Madonick Family’s story or to make a Fund A Cure donation in their honor, please visit their donation page.