UCI receives $55 million to set up center to focus on depression research – Orange County Register

With the help of a $55 million grant, UC Irvine will develop an on-campus center dedicated to depression research, where leading experts will be recruited to study the causes. and treat this disease.

The money was donated by Audrey Steele Burnand, a resident of Newport Beach, as part of her estate. The philanthropist, who died in June 2020, spent the money in his will for the specific purpose of establishing a depression research center at UCI.

University officials will use some of the money to attract faculty members “from all over the world” who “have the same mindset, which is to help with this rather terrible disease that has cost so many lives. every year in the form of suicide. ,” said Michael Stamos, dean of the Department of Medicine at UCI.

The goal is to pursue research that covers “the entire spectrum,” from studying the “basic biological science” of depression, to translating that research into potential treatments, Pramod said. Khargonekar, vice-chancellor of research, said.

The work carried out through the center, he noted, will involve a range of fields, including the biological sciences, engineering and the social sciences.

The research center will be called the Noel Drury MD Depression Research Center, named after a psychiatrist who lives in Newport Beach and works at Hoag Hospital. Steele Burnand knows Drury and would love to have the center bear his name, said Tom Vasich, a spokesman for UCI.

Khargonekar calls the moment a “once-in-a-millennial opportunity” to set up a leading research center, saying he hopes to “look back in five or 10 years and say, 2022 marks the beginning of the world.” Depression research at UCI aims to benefit people with the condition and their loved ones.”

Depression is one of the most common disorders in the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health. By 2020, an estimated 8% of adults and 17% of adolescents in the country will experience a major depressive episode, the institute reports. This disease, which can be inherited, will affect about 1 in 6 people in their lifetime, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

Frank LaFerla, dean of the School of Biological Sciences at UCI, said the donation from Steele Burnand “gives us an opportunity to really make an impact in the community.”

UC Irvine has a history of pursuing innovative brain-focused research, LaFerla said. It was the first institution in the world to establish an academic discipline focused on brain research, with In 1964, the department of neuroscience was established.

When LaFerla was contacted a few years ago by Steele Burnand’s team about her desire to donate to the university and her interest in depression, he came up with a proposal “where I talk about the history of science neuroscience on this campus, and how we have developed and have so many key strengths in neurological disorders, from Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease, to stroke and epilepsy,” he said.

“I said it would be natural for us to move into the area of ​​mental health and depression, building on our background here.”

He submitted a proposal, but got no response, he said.

“And then (we) found out that when she passed away, she left us in her will, and donated this incredible amount to found this depression center. ,” I said.

The donation will be put into an investment fund, the annual income of this fund will be transferred to the center.

The Futures Research Center “provides us another avenue through which the university can conduct research that is important to the community because depression is a worldwide problem,” LaFerla added.

The hub can be located in Falling Leaves Foundation Health Innovation BuildingA website devoted to medical research will likely be up and running on UCI’s main campus for about three years, Stamos said.

After the site went live, Stamos saw UCI as a leader in research on depression.

“It could take five years,” he said. “And mostly because you bring in, you know, the right people, star power, teaching staff that are really doing cutting edge work to discover and teach, train and cure.”

Steele Burnand, daughter of Harry and Grace Steele — who have donated $165 million in their lifetime through their foundation — dedicate another $2.6 million to UCI’s desert research facility in Borrego Springs.