18th Annual Hope for Depression Research Foundation Lunch Seminar to Focus on “Trauma and Recovery: How the Brain Heals” with keynote speaker Dr. Pamela Cantor
(New York, NY – October 25, 2024) – The country’s leading non-profit dedicated to advanced depression research, Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF), has announced that actress, producer, director and Founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation Mariska Hargitay will be the honoree for the 18th Annual HOPE luncheon seminar taking place at The Plaza Hotel on November 12.
The seminar, led by Master of Ceremonies Chuck Scarborough, will focus on “Trauma and Recovery: How the Brain Heals” with top scientists and psychiatrists taking the stage to speak about the latest research in trauma and depression, and how we can strengthen our brain’s ability to support optimal mental health. Trauma, a deeply distressing or disturbing experience, can leave lasting imprints on our brains, influencing how we perceive, react to, and navigate the world around us. Understanding the intricate relationship between trauma and the brain is crucial for both individuals who have experienced trauma and the professionals who support them in their healing journey. (Editors of Neurolaunch, Trauma’s impact on the Brain, 2024).
Dr. Pamela Cantor, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and a trusted voice on the science of learning and human development, will serve as the keynote medical speaker during the luncheon. She is the Founder and CEO of The Human Potential L.A.B., whose mission is to leverage the latest scientific knowledge and technologies to transform what people understand and what institutions do to unlock human potential in each and every individual. Dr. Cantor is a Senior Scientist at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University, and an author of Whole-Child Development, Learning and Thriving: A Dynamic Systems Approach (Cambridge University Press) and The Science of Learning and Development (Routledge). She founded and led the nonprofit organization Turnaround for Children (now the Center for Whole-Child Education at Arizona State University), serving as President and CEO from 2002 to 2018.
Dr. René Hen, a member of the HDRF Depression Task Force, will also give an update on his world-leading research into PTSD. Rene Hen is Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology at Columbia University, and the Director of the Division of Integrative Neuroscience in the Department of Psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). Hen’s work has led the field in the study of the hippocampus and the contribution of hippocampal neurogenesis to mood and cognition. Novel therapies aimed at directly targeting hippocampal cells are currently under investigation for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Mariska Hargitay will accept the 2024 Hope Award for Depression Advocacy. Hargitay is an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress and producer, best known for her portrayal of Detective Olivia Benson on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which is the longest-running primetime drama series of all time. Hargitay won an Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Drama, a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series, four Gracie Allen Awards, two People’s Choice Awards, and a Gotham TV Award for her portrayal of Olivia Benson. Global acclaim for her performance includes the Monte Carlo TV Festival’s Crystal Nymph Award and Italy’s prestigious International Flaiano Award. In 2013, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to the star of her mother, screen legend Jayne Mansfield. 
Hargitay’s role on “SVU” awakened her to the burdens that survivors of trauma often carry: the weight of shame, judgment and isolation. Inspired by their courage, she founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004, whose mission is to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and end this violence forever. Their “End the Backlog” campaign aims to eliminate the backlog of hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits sitting in storage across America, so that survivors can get the closure they deserve.  She produced “I Am Evidence,” an HBO documentary on the topic, nominated for a Peabody Award and won the 2019 Emmy Award for Best Documentary. 
Hargitay’s advocacy work off-screen has earned her numerous honors, including Variety’s Karma Award, the Good Sister Award for Advocacy from the Children’s Advocacy Center of Manhattan, the Special Ally Award from the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and the Muse Award from New York Women in Film and Television.  She was recently named a Woman of the Year by Glamour Magazine and a Variety Power of Women honoree.
Previous recipients of the Hope Award for Depression Advocacy include Dakota Johnson, Aly Raisman, Michael Phelps, LeAnn Rimes, Ashley Judd, Brooke Shields, Taraji P. Henson, Richard Dreyfuss and Terry Bradshaw.
The program will also feature news about discoveries by HDRF’s acclaimed Depression Task Force, an international consortium of top neuroscientists from different universities who are compiling data and expertise to accelerate research. The Task Force was convened in 2010 by HDRF Founding Chair Audrey Gruss;today it isconducting the most advanced depression research in the country.
HDRF Executive Director Louisa Benton said: “Our Depression Task Force is tirelessly working toward a deeper understanding of the biology of mental health, tied to clear biological signs that can come from a laboratory test, that will lead to a more accurate diagnosis and new, more targeted treatments that can also be scaled.”
Livingston Builders Inc. will accept the 2024 Hope Corporate Visionary Award for their commitment to raising the profile of HDRF’s Palm Beach Race of HOPE, an event that has galvanized Palm Beach around mental health awareness since 2019. In addition, Hank Siegel, CEO of Hamilton Jewelers, will accept the HOPE Community Award for launching in 2023 the HOPE Charms collection of fine jewelry, with sales benefiting HDRF.
This year’s Event Co-Chairs include Marchesa Barel di Sant’ Albano, Maru M. Hagerty, Kim M. Heirston, Tania Higgins, Eleanora Kennedy, Kristen Maltese Krusen, Margo Langenberg, Kitty and Bill McKnight, Peter S. Paine III, Barbara and Randall Smith and Scott Snyder.
This year’s Hope luncheon and seminar will celebrate the foundation’s leadership in depression research for 18 years. Each year, the luncheon is attended by over 300 top New York philanthropists, asset managers, business and media professionals, socialites and celebrities who gather to raise awareness about depression and its related mood disorders and to raise funds for continued research.
To purchase tables and tickets for the HOPE luncheon, please visit www.HopeForDepression.org/events
ABOUT HOPE FOR DEPRESSION RESEARCH FOUNDATION (HDRF)
HDRF was founded in 2006 by philanthropist Audrey Gruss in memory of her mother Hope, who struggled with clinical depression. The mission of the HDRF is to spur the most innovative brain research into the origins, medical diagnosis, new treatments, and prevention of depression and its related mood disorders – bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, and suicide. The World Health Organization has declared depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, and yet conventional medications today are outdated and do not fully work for 50% of patients. HDRF is working tirelessly to improve the mental health landscape for every American. The Foundation has provided more than $85 million through over 200 grants for breakthrough depression research that promises to transform the way depression is viewed, diagnosed, treated and prevented. Currently, HDRF has a potential new class of medication in pilot clinical trials at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and Stanford University. HDRF is also funding clinical trials into other novel therapeutics and diagnostic tests at Johns Hopkins, University of San Diego, and the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
