Founded in 2011, One Mind for Research was created and developed by Patrick Kennedy, the controversial nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of Senator Ted Kennedy, after he retired from the U.S. Congress in order to focus on fighting brain disease. One of Patrick’s key triumphs in Congress was the passing of legislation that defended mental health patients against the potential bullying tactics of big insurance companies. With One Mind for Research, though, he was able to create something that brings together the nation’s top minds with a desire to cure brain disease within a decade.
The organization’s primary focal points will be post-traumatic stress disorder – as more than 300,000 American troops have been diagnosed with this illness – and traumatic brain injuries; however, One Mind will also study and develop treatments and hopefully cures for every known brain illness, from depression to Autism. In May, One Mind had its first annual panel at UCLA, featuring the celebrity endorsement of actress Glenn Close, as well as the military expertise of Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who provided proof of the seriousness of PTSD among American troops.
The organization was co-founded by philanthropist Garen K. Staglin, whose son suffers from schizophrenia, as he has privately been donating to organizations that fight against brain disease for 20 years.
One of the latest additions to this tremendous effort in the University of Cincinnati’s Neuroscience Institute, as the center’s director, Dr. Norberto Andaluz, has been a key figure in the diagnosis and understanding of “brain tsunamis”, which are elemental in the continuing damage that the brain suffers after the onset of PTSD, according to WVXU in Cincinnati.
“Our department of neurosurgery has always been one of the leading centers in the country for the development of new treatments and technologies that nowadays are used all over the world.”
Andaluz will join Chiarelli and other members of One Mind for Research later this month at another public discussion that will further detail the organization’s goal of curing all brain illnesses.
“The content of the presentations will not be heavily scientific and boring. They will be rather brief but they will be discussing what is going on in Cincinnati.”