Going With the Float

The event: A Holiday Boat Parade Party for the Fellows of the Brain Imaging Center at the UC Irvine College of Medicine. Guests enjoyed a bay-side view of the electric float parade from the Balboa Yacht Club in Corona del Mar. The Brain Imaging Center Committee staged the recent gala to thank the fellows for their yearlong support.

Harbor lights: About 40 party-goers gathered ‘round the windows of the yacht club and watched as boats--strung with colored lights and bearing Santas and reindeer--glided by. Guests loved the parade. “When you see how they decorate these boats, it’s awesome,” said Ron Norick, a marshal of past parades who attended with his wife, Marge, event chairwoman. To add to the festive ambience, carolers in Victorian costumes serenaded the group, and the club served a nautical buffet of cracked crab and shrimp.

Brain work: The Brain Imaging Center uses state-of-the-art scanning equipment to research brain diseases that include depression, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and attention deficit disorder. “Only about five other scanners in the world match our resolution. We can create a 3-D reconstruction of the brain. From those pictures, we can diagnose an illness” and monitor treatment, said David Keator, research analyst for the center.

Bottom line: Since 1987, the fellows have raised $2 million for the Brain Imaging Center, not counting a $1-million charitable remainder trust and a $100,000 gift for research from members Robert and Margaret Sprague.

Fellows contribute at least $1,000 a year to the center, and they hold fund-raisers and symposiums throughout the year. Such events “erase the stigma” of mental illness, said Peggy Goldwater Clay, president of the center committee. “It’s about getting down to brass tacks and raising money for research.”

Quote: “Without this

research, we’d be back where we were 30 or 40 years ago,” said

Ron Norick, whose 35-year-old son Kevin’s schizophrenia was diagnosed 15 years ago. “They’re making tremendous gains and coming out with new drugs that allow the mentally ill to function” in society.

Faces: Dr. Steven Potkin, director of the center; Dr. Sidney Golub, executive vice chancellor of UCI; Dr. William Bunney; Dr. Joseph Wu; Dr. Ahmad Najafi; Warren and Marion Brown; Dee Harvey; Walter and Alpha Hahn; Eric and Lila Nelson; and Bob Bonney.

What’s ahead: The center’s fellows will stage their Silver Ribbon Dinner honoring those who have made significant contributions to brain research May 28 at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. Call the center at (714) 824-2825.