Around Town: Serena Ryder headlines U of O Faculty of Medicine gala

The circus came to town, and brought with it Serena Ryder to perform at the U of O Faculty of Medicine’s Abracadabra: A Night of Magic and Medicine.

The second annual gala, held Saturday at the Westin Hotel, saw the two-time Juno Award-winning artist work her own musical magic with a mix of hit songs and new material before a 300-person crowd that included University of Ottawa president Allan Rock, the faculty’s dean, Dr. Jacques Bradwejn, and Dr. David Park, director of the university’s Brain and Mind Research Institute (uOBMRI).

The gala’s creative theme of a travelling medicine and circus show brought everyone “under the Big Top” to highlight the institute, which is a world-class leader in neuroscience research and treatment of brain disorders, including stroke, depression/suicide, Parkinson’s and neuromuscular disease.

“This is something that is very near and dear to my heart,” Ryder said on stage while speaking about her struggles with depression and the healing power of music. “One thing I’ve learned lately is that your heart is a lot smarter than your brain.”

Park was joined at the gala by such fellow uOBMRI researchers as: Drs. Ruth Slack, Jocelyn Côté, Georg Northoff, Dar Dowlatshahi and Michael Schlossmacher — all in magician top hats.

The gala, with impressive decor by Event Design, featured circus performers, carnival culinary stations and its own signature cocktail, the Magic Elixir.

The celebration capped off an “extremely successful” week of events held during the institute’s inaugural Brain Health Awareness Week to promote the work it’s doing on the body’s most complex organ. Helping it get the word out were mental health patient advocates.

“It’s been amazing,” Park, who is also co-director of the Parkinson Research Consortium at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and a U of O professor, told Around Town. “It was really about coming out to the community and engaging the community because they’re central to the success of the institute.”

He later told the crowd that the number of people living with brain disorders is staggering and it’s only going to get worse. “But, there is hope,” Park added. The uOBMRI “is going to make a difference … We are doing research that helps patients today and will help those who develop brain disorders in the future.”