Stories of Resiliency and Recovery at Imagine More Dinner

Milwaukee, July 2, 2019 – Hosted each year by the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Neuroscience Research Center, the annual Imagine More Dinner supports research toward the cause and cure of devastating neurological diseases. This year’s event, held June 13, raised nearly $250,000 and included a record 415 guests. In seven years, the dinner has raised approximately $1.2 million.

Keynote speaker Terri deRoon-Cassini, PhD, associate professor of surgery (trauma and critical care) and psychiatry and behavioral medicine at MCW, presented her research and shared compelling stories of patients who had experienced significant trauma, the impact of that trauma on their mental health and the resulting PTSD. One of Dr. deRoon-Cassini’s patients, a woman who was a victim of a shooting, also shared her story of how she worked to overcome her trauma and is now a survivor with the determination to flourish.

Panna Codner, MD, associate professor of trauma and critical care at MCW, received the $25,000 Imagine More Award for her research on the link between the type and number of bacteria in the digestive tract and the development, maintenance and continuation of symptoms of PTSD many years after a traumatic injury.

Special guest Billie Kubly and her late husband Michael were awarded the 2019 Neuro Hero Award for their ongoing support of mental health research and community partnerships. In 2005, they donated $1 million to create an endowed chair in their son’s memory, the Charles E. Kubly Chair in Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, held today by Jon Lehrmann, MD, professor and chair of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at MCW.

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About the Medical College of Wisconsin

With a history dating back to 1893, The Medical College of Wisconsin is dedicated to leadership and excellence in education, patient care, research and community engagement. More than 1,200 students are enrolled in MCW’s medical school and graduate school programs in Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Central Wisconsin. MCW’s School of Pharmacy opened in 2017. A major national research center, MCW is the largest research institution in the Milwaukee metro area and second largest in Wisconsin. In FY2016, faculty received more than $184 million in external support for research, teaching, training and related purposes. This total includes highly competitive research and training awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Annually, MCW faculty direct or collaborate on more than 3,100 research studies, including clinical trials. Additionally, more than 1,500 physicians provide care in virtually every specialty of medicine for more than 525,000 patients annually.