Please join us for our 3rd annual dinner, An Evening of BrightFocus. This extraordinary gathering, held at Washington National Cathedral on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, will spotlight exemplary scientists and advocates who are driving some of the most exciting work around the globe to end diseases of mind and sight.

The evening will once again present several outstanding BrightFocus-funded researchers during the interactive Cocktails with the Scientists, followed by an unforgettable seated dinner program honoring excellence in research science and advocacy with the presentation of three awards:

• Our Public Leadership Award will be given to acclaimed director, producer, and actor James Keach (Walk the Line) for his trilogy of films that humanize researchers, patients and caregivers, and showcase the importance of research. Mr. Keach’s Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me (2015) followed music legend Glen Campbell’s farewell tour after the singer’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. In Augie (2017), Life Fitness founder, Augie Nieto and his family share their inspiring 13-year battle with ALS, and The Turning Point (2018) will be a rare behind-the-scenes look at the quest to defeat Alzheimer’s.
• The Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research, sponsored by BrightFocus, is the foremost award in vision science, and this year’s laureates are a team of distinguished researchers: Webster Cavanee, PhD; Thaddeus Dryja, MD; Brenda Gallie, MD; and A. Linn Murphree, MD. Their pioneering discovery of the retinoblastoma eye cancer gene has revolutionized the promise of genetics as a tool for prevention, diagnosis, and personalized clinical decision-making for all eye diseases.
• Reflecting our commitment to developing the next generation of scientists, we will recognize Rachel Bennett, PhD, of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital for her outstanding research on how changes in tau protein impact Alzheimer’s.

The official event hashtag is #MindSightCure. Join the conversation.

For questions about the event or to register offline, please contact Diana Campbell at 301-556-9343 or dcampbell@brightfocus.org.