The sun over California's Napa Valley warmed the already-sunny mood Saturday at a unique research fundraiser, the Staglin Music Festival for Mental Health. Brandon Staglin has schizophrenia and his family has been diligently fundraising for a cure for 13 years, hosting symposia and concerts at their vineyard. The 2007 event on September 8th raised a record $4.0 million, up from $3.8 million last year. All proceeds go directly to brain science research.

"Ty [Cannon of UCLA]'s announcement [of a $14.6 million grant from NIH for research continuing from work seeded with Staglin funds] and these leveraged grants are another example of the importance of private funding in an era of decreasing public research funding. We now have two categories of funds to track--both direct and leveraged gifts," said Garen Staglin. "We've always realized how important this type of unrestricted funding is to assist these doctors and scientists with their research. We hope that our approach of 'venture philanthropy' will inspire more to do the same."

The combination of direct gifts and leveraged grants in the Festival's history is an awesome $53.0 million.

[Image: statue in front of a taqueria down the highway from the Staglin Family Vineyard, Napa Valley. Photo above is me in the shade at the symposium.] Director of the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) Tom Insel said, "Most of our investment is in late stage, well-developed research projects that have enough preliminary data to pass peer review. But, we also need early phase studies that may be powered by an innovative idea but lack preliminary data, and we recognize these studies will be vital for future breakthroughs in mental health. Fortunately, the critical need for funding these early phase studies is being filled by philanthropic organizations, such as the Staglin Foundation."

The $250,000 Staglin Family/NARSAD Schizophrenia "Rising Star" research award went to Akira Sawa, M.D., Ph.D., from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Sawa's work involves the DISC-1 gene; when abnormal it may be a risk factor for schizophrenia. He continues to study how other genes interact with DISC-1 and is developing in utero multi-gene knockout studies in mice to do so. As well, he is investigating a potential biomarker screening tool with nasal biopsies of olfactory neurons.

After the science came the swankiness. $500 tickets admitted guests to a reception with wine tastings from over 70 renowned and cult California wineries, and hors d'oeuvres from celebrity chef Richard Reddington. The afternoon was capped by an intimate concert by soul diva Gladys Knight. Those who bought $3,500 tickets stayed on for a starlight dinner in the gardens, created by Chef Rick Moonen who is celebrated for his commitment to sustainable seafood as well as culinary talent. Even those of us merely attending the free symposium had some niceties; my press kit came on a embossed leather flash drive, and there was lots of necessary Fiji water in the heat of the sun.