The Friends of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior at UCLA to Honor Eric McCormack, Renee and Meyer Luskin and Dr. Andrew Leuchter at Music and the Mind Gala

LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Friends of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) will honor Emmy Award-winning actor Eric McCormack, philanthropists Renee and Meyer Luskin and distinguished UCLA Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Dr. Andrew Leuchter at the inaugural Music and the Mind gala,  April 28, 2013 at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel.  Robert Gupta, Los Angeles Philharmonic Violinist and founder of the Street Symphony and jazz singer Tierney Sutton will perform.  Actress/comedienne Ruby Wax hosts.    

The Friends of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior at UCLA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and enhancing community awareness and fundraising to support research being done at the Semel Institute.  Proceeds from Music and the Mind will benefit The Friends' Scholar Program.

Emmy Award-winning actor Eric McCormack will receive the Award of Courage for his groundbreaking portrayal of Dr. Daniel Pierce, a brilliant neuroscientist living with paranoid schizophrenia, in the hit TNT television show Perception. Professor Elyn Saks, legal scholar, author and MacArthur Genius Fellow, who has thrived in spite of a lifelong battle with schizophrenia, will present. 

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block will present the Humanitarian Award to Renee and Meyer Luskin for their deep commitment to UCLA and the community.  The Luskins both attended UCLA and are involved in many philanthropic endeavors. 

Andrew F. Leuchter, MD will be honored with the Visionary Award presented by Dr. A. Eugene Washington, Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences at UCLA.  Dr. Leuchter is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. 

The Semel Institute is a preeminent institute for the study of mind, brain and behavior.  Through its Scholar Program, the Friends of the Semel Institute has helped fund vital research and clinical programs at the Institute in areas across the life span from Autism to Alzheimer's Disease.  The Friends also sponsor the "Open Mind," an educational lecture and film series that brings together experts from the Semel Institute, authors and filmmakers to present programs about mental health issues free to the public on the UCLA campus.  For more information, visit www.friendsofthesemelinstitute.org.

SOURCE The Friends of the Semel Institute