Bob Saget, Top Chef Masters and More to Bring COOL COMEDY - HOT CUISINE to NYC

Bob Saget will host Cool Comedy - Hot Cuisine, the 12th Annual New York gala to benefit the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF) on, Mon., December 12 at Carolines on Broadway. Saget, an SRF Board Member who lost his sister to scleroderma, will be joined in the fundraising effort for this life-threatening disease by comedians Michael Che, John Oliver, Jeff Ross and other special guests.

Presented by Actelion Pharmaceuticals, along with event sponsors The Arthur Zimtbaum Foundation, Andrew and Violetta Merin, Cool Comedy - Hot Cuisine benefits the Scleroderma Research Foundation-America's first and leading nonprofit investor in medical research to find improved therapies and a cure for people living with scleroderma. The "Hot Cuisine" for the evening will be provided by celebrity chefs / restaurateurs Susan Feniger, an SRF Board Member, and Mary Sue Milliken (Food Network's Too Hot Tamales and Bravo's Top Chef Masters) who will treat guests to a multi-course dinner with dishes from their highly acclaimed Border Grill Restaurants and featuring the wine of event sponsor Rombauer Vineyards

"Until a cure is found, I will spend the rest of my life dedicated to helping the Scleroderma Research Foundation fund the most promising medical research and bring attention to this disease that has impacted so many," says Saget. "As much as I love the Foundation, I look forward to the day when I hear that we have found a cure and that we have put the Scleroderma Research Foundation out of business."

The success of Cool Comedy - Hot Cuisine events held in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco has raised considerable awareness for scleroderma and enabled the SRF to fund innovative research bringing hope and helping to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from this debilitating disease. Since its founding in 1987, the Foundation has taken a collaborative approach, bringing together some of the brightest minds in science to unravel the mystery of this complex autoimmune disease.

The word scleroderma literally means "hard skin," but the disease is much more than that, often affecting the internal organs with life-threatening consequences. In some cases, the joints and muscles are affected, resulting in severe pain and limited mobility. Vascular damage due to scleroderma can result in loss of fingers, toes and entire limbs.

Cool Comedy - Hot Cuisine will include a cocktail reception, dinner and stand-up comedy. There will also be live and silent auctions featuring such unique packages as the opportunity to attend Super Bowl 51 in Houston, Texas, as well join the stars of the upcoming Terence Malik film Weightless for the world red carpet premiere in Austin, Texas. First-class airfare is provided by sponsor Delta Air Lines. Other packages include a unique collection of wine from the Napa Valley and a dinner prepared in your home by celebrity chef Elizabeth Falkner.

Tickets for Cool Comedy - Hot Cuisine start at $500, tables of six are available for $5,000 and tables of 10 available at $10,000 and $25,000. All monies raised benefit the Scleroderma Research Foundation. For more information, call (800) 441-CURE or visit www.sclerodermaRESEARCH.org.

The symptoms and severity of scleroderma vary from one person to another and the course of the disease is often unpredictable. Women are disproportionately affected with scleroderma (representing four out of five patients), usually striking in the prime of their lives, between the ages of 20 and 50; however, children and men of all ages and across all ethnic boundaries can also be affected.

Today, there is no way to prevent scleroderma and there is no cure yet. Treatments are available for some but not all of the most serious complications. However, with a research program led by a world-class Scientific Advisory Board the SRF is bringing new hope for patients. The continued success of the Scleroderma Research Foundation is entirely dependent upon charitable gifts from individuals and corporations. Dr. Fredrick Wigley, Director of the Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center states in the Project Scleroderma video, "the SRF has made an incredible difference, and I am absolutely convinced with the right support there is nothing that can't be done."

The SRF was established in San Francisco in 1987 by scleroderma patient Sharon Monsky. The Foundation began with a passionate commitment that lives on today: to use the power of collaborative medical research to advance a cure for scleroderma. Chaired by Luke Evnin, Ph.D., managing partner of MPM Capital, a dedicated investor in life sciences, the Foundation is enabling scientists from leading institutions across the nation and around the world to work together and develop an understanding of how the disease begins, how it progresses and what can be done to slow, halt or reverse the disease process.