On August 10, 2016 at UCLA’s Royce Hall, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), presented its annual, star-studded VOICE Awards program, and we Staglins were excited to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.
We were inspired by the many amazing advocates present, with whom it has been our privilege to work.
In accepting our award, we thank the countless generous individuals, families and organizations whose philanthropy has made our almost-$250 million of support for brain health research possible since 1995. Their support has enabed us to:
- springboard 21 Rising Star neuroscientitsts into positions of leadership for good (including the NIMH’s new director, Josh Gordon)
- launch an international psychosis prevention consortium that has helped thousands of families
- convene powerful team science collaborations to find a new biomarker for traumatic brain injury
- and much more.
And as we spoke of, there is much more to look forward to:
- digital therapeutics and brain plasticity-based therapies improving the mental health of the underserved
- gene-targeted therapies to mitigate the development of schizophrenia
- the promise of the 100,000-person UCLA Depression Grand Challenge to relieve the worldwide burden of depression by 50% by 2050
- the integration of a “checkup from the neck up” into everyone’s primary care
- the elimination of vague and discrimination-ridden labels like “schizophrenia” or “bipolar” in favor of precise biological diagnoses based on brain genetics, structure and function.
We believe that if you can see it, you can do it. We hope you will join us to lead the brain health community toward a brighter future for those of us facing psychiatric challenges.
–Shari, Garen, Brandon and Shannon Staglin