One Mind for Research

When our son Brandon was diagnosed with schizophrenia during the summer after his freshman year at Dartmouth over 20 years ago, the notion of finding a cure for this disease in our lifetime was unimaginable. Today we know that cures for the neurological and psychiatric disorders afflicting 1 in 3 Americans, from children with Autism to seniors with Alzheimer's, are within reach. Our entire family has dedicated itself to making a difference by funding research and reducing the stigma associated with disorders of the brain.

One Mind for Research is an historic grassroots endeavor uniting the efforts of scientists, research universities, government agencies and advocacy organizations across the country all striving towards a common goal: to improve the health and functioning of the 100 million Americans living with a disorder of the brain or central nervous system.

The importance of this undertaking is given even greater urgency by the challenges of the estimated 400,000 soldiers and veterans living with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These "invisible" wounds of war are now claiming more lives to suicide and accidental death than are lost on the battlefield.

Driven by the urgency of the crisis and the imperative to achieve rapid progress in understanding and treatment of brain disorders, a remarkable national coalition of scientists under the leadership of Harvard University Provost Dr. Steve Hyman and several current Directors of the National Institutes of Health as well as heads of research institutions across the country was formed. They have developed a comprehensive 10-year research plan in neuroscience to benefit soldier and civilian. This is the first time since the challenge of John F. Kennedy 50 years ago for a "moonshot" that so many of our country's best and brightest have united in a coordinated scientific effort.

Attached please find a brief description of what millions of Americans believe is our generation's moonshot: scientific discoveries that will lead to better understanding and treatment, and increased hope, for those living with psychiatric and neurological disease.

Sincerely,

Garen and Shari Staglin