webster's blog

Dr. Isaiah Fidler presenting the inaugural lecture of the UC Brain Tumor Molecular Therapeutics Program. Photo by Cindy Starr / Mayfield Clinic.

Isaiah Fidler, DVM, PhD, one of the world’s leading experts on brain metastasis, wowed a standing-room-only audience of neuroscience researchers Wednesday at the University of Cincinnati by illuminating what he hypothesizes is the lethal, long-hidden culprit behind brain metastasis.

Heather Turner, Executive Director of NAMI Hamilton County, and Stephen M. Strakowski, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Research at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Photo by Cindy Starr / Mayfield Clinic.

Shake it off … Everybody goes through bad patches ... Chin up … It’s all in your head!

Sound familiar? Stephen M. Strakowski, MD, a leading psychiatrist and researcher, knows that for those who struggle with mental illness, dark thoughts and cloudy moods really are all in their head. But – and here’s the catch – they’re biologically based and not a sign of moral failing or personal weakness. “The brain,” he said Wednesday, “is vulnerable to going awry.”

Former patient Mary Siereveld, center, with Eileen Hintz, left, of the University Hospital Development Office, and Public Relations Manager Diana Maria Lara. Photo by Cindy Starr/Mayfield Clinic.

When Mary Siereveld came to University Hospital to see the three sturdy new rollaway beds that a fund in her name had purchased, two of the cots were already being used. Rhonda Sarver, a registered nurse on the neuroscience floor, predicted the third cot would be in use before the weekend was over. It was.

“The rollaway beds are a godsend for patients’ families,” Rhonda said. “We are so glad to have them.”

Celebrating Research Innovations for an Epilepsy Cure,” the UC Epilepsy Center’s signature fundraising event, drew more than 380 guests and raised nearly $120,000 November 1 at Embers restaurant in Madeira.