SUPPORTERS OF THE Houston organization BRASS (Baylor Research Advocates for Student Scientists) celebrated the group’s 30th anniversary at a beautiful River Oaks home. BRASS president Elsie Eckert and a former BRASS scholar Sharon Bright were among those who welcomed everyone to the event.

The evening recognized BRASS mentor-doctors James Bonar, Ben Deneen and Ganesh Rao; also in attendance was renowned neurologist Huda Y. Zoghbi, a member of the BRASS Board and the liaison between the Board and Baylor College of Medicine. “Widely admired as a mentor and scientific pioneer,” per a release, Dr. Zoghbi’s presence was a powerful reminder of BRASS’s mission to inspire and support the next generation of biomedical leaders.

The celebration — and the transformative mentorship organization itself — would not be possible without the great Dr. Michael DeBakey, an honorary lifetime member. He once said that BRASS is worth championing because “it does not support a cure for a specific disease that people will rally around and support financially, but rather a broad-based approach to supporting the research that will define the disease. There is no other organization like this in the country.”