2024 Gala: Mysterious Worlds

Mark your calendars on Saturday, November 2, for The Health Museum’s 2024 gala, Mysterious Worlds: Unveiling the Wonders of Healthy Living.

health museum 2024 gala

Honoring Peter Hotez,
M.D., Ph.D.

This year’s gala, Mysterious Worlds, is a journey into the unseen synergies around us, connecting the health of our bodies and minds to the health of our communities and our planet. Come celebrate the people and institutions that have played a part in creating a healthier world and supporting the many diverse people inhabiting it.

Join us for an evening of cocktails, dinner, a live auction, music, dancing, and a splash of mystery!

Gala Chair

Erica Littlejohn Burnette, Esq.

Facility Administrator,
Ascent Emergency Medical Center

Advisory Board Chair,
The Health Museum

Auction Co-Chairs

Dr. James Flowers
Founder, President
J. Flowers Health Institute
The Health Museum Board Member

Robin French
Chief of Staff,
J. Flowers Health Institute

Gala Sponsors

Sponsorship LevelSponsors

Miraculous

WondrousHCA Houston Healthcare

Susan Bickley & Robert Scott/
Susan & Ward Pennebaker

Harris County Medical Society/
Houston Academy of Medicine

UnitedHealthcare
AstonishingGulf Coast Regional Blood Center
Kenneth & June Mattox
MarvelousAscent Emergency Medical Center
Dr. & Mrs. Ronald T. Cotton
J. Flowers Health Institute
David Gow
Dr. & Mrs. Carlos R. Hamilton, Jr. and family 
The Sydney D. Holland Foundation
Houston Medical Forum
Houston Methodist
William S. Gilmer, M.D.
Linbeck Group
Jackie Macha & Brian Faulkner
Drs. Michael & Anna Mapp
Memorial Hermann
Microsoft
Dr. Bon Ngu & Mrs. Edna Ngu
Dr. JoAnne Rogers-Sylve
Liz & Andy Stepanian
Texas Children’s Hospital
Texas Dow Employees Credit Union
Truist Bank Wealth Management
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
UTHealth Houston
Bob Westendarp
UnderwritersEntertainment Underwriter
Neel, Hooper & Banes, P.C./Bryant & Nova Banes

Photography Underwriter
Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein & Mr. Martin Fein

Valet Underwriter
Uncle Funky’s Daughter

Mystery Box Underwriter 
Artella Solutions

Auction Underwriter 
Sculpt U Club Physical Therapy

Floral Underwriter
H-E-B
Media SponsorsCKW Luxe Magazine
Hot in Houston Now
Key Magazine
Modern Luxury Houston Magazine
Que Onda Magazine
River Oaks Lifestyle Magazine
Spring Branch Plus Magazine
Swoon Memorial Magazine

Miraculous

$50,000

  • Exclusive promotional opportunities, to be developed jointly, to showcase your generosity to a wider audience
  • Prominent table for 12 guests
  • VIP reception
  • Premium champagne served at table
  • Place cards for guests
  • Logo in print materials and on website
  • Verbal recognition during the event
  • Complimentary valet
  • Two Smithsonian Family Max Memberships
    to The Health Museum

Otherworldly

$25,000

  • Prominent table for 12 guests
  • VIP reception
  • Premium champagne served at table
  • Place cards for guests
  • Name in print materials and on website
  • Verbal recognition during the event
  • Complimentary valet

Wondrous

$15,000

  • Prominent table for 10 guests
  • VIP reception
  • Name in print materials
  • Verbal recognition during the event
  • Complimentary valet
  • One Family Membership to
    The Health Museum

Astonishing 

$10,000

  • Table for 10 guests
  • VIP reception
  • Name in print materials
  • Complimentary valet
  • One Dual Membership to The Health Museum

Marvelous 

$5,000

  • Table for 8 guests
  • Name in print materials
  • Complimentary valet

Individual Tickets

$1,000

  • One VIP ticket
  • Complimentary valet

All underwriter benefits include VIP reception, name on printed materials, and complimentary valet

Print – $15,000

8 VIP Tickets

Bar – $10,000

6 VIP Tickets

Entertainment – $5,000

4 VIP Tickets

Decor – $5,000

4 VIP Tickets

Mystery Box – $3,000

2 tickets

Auction – $3,000

2 VIP tickets

Valet – $3,000

2 VIP Tickets

Photography – $3,000

2 VIP Tickets

Peter J. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D. is Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine where he is also the Co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) and Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics.  He is also University Professor at Baylor University, Fellow in Disease and Poverty at the James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy,  Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University, Faculty Fellow with the Hagler Institute for Advanced Studies at Texas A&M University, and Health Policy Scholar in the Baylor Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy. He also holds honorary DSc doctoral degrees from the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine (Northwell Health), Roanoke College, honorary doctoral degrees in both science and humanities by The National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), and City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy.

Dr. Hotez is an internationally-recognized physician-scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development.  As co-director of the Texas Children’s CVD, he leads a team and product development partnership for developing new vaccines for hookworm infection, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis,  Chagas disease, and SARS/MERS/SARS-2 coronavirus, diseases affecting hundreds of millions of children and adults worldwide, while championing access to vaccines globally and in the United States.  

In December 2021, Dr. Hotez co-led efforts at the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development to develop low-cost recombinant protein COVID vaccine technologies for global health, resulting in emergency use authorization in India and Indonesia. A human hookworm vaccine is accelerating rapidly through clinical trials – this is a project he began as an MD-PhD student in the 1980s.

He obtained his undergraduate degree in molecular biophysics from Yale University in 1980 (phi beta kappa), followed by a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from Rockefeller University in 1986, and an M.D. from Weil Cornell Medical College in 1987.  Dr. Hotez has authored more than 680 original papers indexed on PubMed and is the author of five single-author books, including Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases (ASM Press); Blue Marble Health: An Innovative Plan to Fight Diseases of the Poor amid Wealth (Johns Hopkins University Press); Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism (Johns Hopkins University Press); and Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-science (Johns Hopkins University Press).

Dr. Hotez served previously as President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and he is founding Editor-in-Chief of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. In 2006 at the Clinton Global Initiative he co-founded the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases to provide access to essential medicines for hundreds of millions of people. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (Public Health Section) and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (Public Policy Section).  In 2014-16, he served in the Obama Administration as US Envoy, focusing on vaccine diplomacy initiatives between the US Government and countries in the Middle East and North Africa.  In 2018, he was appointed by the US State Department to serve on the Board of Governors for the US Israel Binational Science Foundation, and is frequently called upon frequently to testify before US Congress. He has served on infectious disease task forces for two consecutive Texas Governors.  In 2022 Hotez and his colleague Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for “their work to develop and distribute a low-cost COVID-19 vaccine to people of the world without patent limitation,” while in 2023, the National Academy of Medicine recognized them with their David and Beatrix Hamburg Award for Biomedical Sciences and Clinical Medicine, and as Dallas Morning News Texans of the Year.

Dr. Hotez has also emerged as one of the leading defenders of vaccines in America. As both a vaccine scientist and autism parent, he has led national efforts to defend vaccines and to serve as an ardent champion of vaccines going up against a growing national “antivax” threat.

In 2018 and 2019, he received the Award for Leadership in Advocacy for Vaccines from ResearchAmerica and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, respectively. 

In 2021-22 he received the AMA (American Medical Association) Scientific Leadership Award and the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) RWJF David E. Rogers Award, in addition to being recognized by the Anti-Defamation League with its annual Popkin Award for combating antisemitism. He was also honored with the John P. McGovern Award by The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA).

In 2023 he received the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science ) Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility for his “scientific work in vaccine development and his work as a public voice promoting and defending vaccines.” Also in 2023, Dr. Hotez received the Anthony Fauci Courage in Leadership Award from the IDSA (Infectious Diseases Society of America) and the LBJ Moral Courage Award from the Holocaust Museum Houston.

In 2024, Dr. Hotez received the Anthony Cerami  Award in Translational Medicine. Award from the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research of Northwell Health, Sigma Xi’s John P. McGovern Science and Society Award, Mendel Medal Award from Villanova University, and was named to TIME 100 Health’s inaugural leaders in healthcare. 

Dr. Hotez appears frequently on television (including BBC, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC), radio, and in newspaper interviews (including the New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal).

Source: peterhotez.org

Experience luxury accommodations from Hotel ZaZa. Gala guests can enjoy a discounted rate of $269 per night when booking a hotel stay using the exclusive code HMU124.

Please note that in addition to the room rate, all bookings will be subject to the following charges:

  • State, county, and city taxes (currently at 17%)
  • Amenity fee of $26.25 per night
  • State recovery fee of $3.75 per room, per night (subject to change)

Hotel accommodations are limited to a first come, first serve basis. Book now for an extended experience at the Mysterious Worlds Gala. Offer ends Monday October 14.

Things to Know About Hotel Accommodations

  • Check-in time is 4:00 p.m. Guests may be checked in earlier depending on occupancy levels and availability of “ready” rooms on the day of arrival. Early check-ins cannot be confirmed until the day of arrival. Check-out time is 12:00 p.m. noon; requests to retain rooms beyond that hour should be directed to the Front Office Manager the morning of departure. A late departure charge may be applied if it is possible to extend a late checkout.
  • All guest room cancellations must be made by 4:00 p.m. (CST) one day before arrival. Should a reservation be canceled later than 4:00 p.m. (CST) one day before arrival, individuals shall be responsible for a charge equaling one night’s room and tax.
  • Should a guest not check into the Hotel by 11:59 p.m. (CST) on the arrival date, the Hotel will cancel the entire reservation and a charge equaling one night’s room and tax will be applied to the guest’s credit card. This policy does not apply to any guest who makes prior arrangements with the Hotel reservation department for check-in after 11:59 p.m. (CST) on arrival date.
  • Upon check-in, the departure date will be confirmed with each guest. If a guest checks out of the Hotel earlier than their confirmed departure date, a one-night room and tax will be charged to the individual guest.
peggy rhoads health museum

Peggy Rhoads

Senior Director of Developmentprhoads@thehealthmuseum.org713-337-8441

Please reach out for questions about gala tickets or sponsorship opportunities

When Saturday November 2 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Where Hotel Zaza Museum District
5701 Main St.
Houston, TX
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