With a goal to further reduce suffering and suicides and to advance our vision, Walt’s Waltz educates the public on the role genetics and epigenetics can play in mental health conditions. Current approaches to mental health research focus disproportionally on improving behavioral science and services but ignores the importance of fundamental genetic and epigenetic research as seen in other conditions and diseases.

Our Mental Health Moonshot Initiative strives to educate the public on the role genetics and epigenetics play in mental health conditions. We create media posts, write articles, host presentations/trainings, meet with stakeholders, and are creating a film series featuring interviews with leading scientists in the fields of genetics and epigenetics.

To illustrate our point, in 1971 the United States declared a war on cancer by signing the National Cancer Act which launched a massive increase in federal spending for cancer research, prompting breakthroughs that lead to better, more effective treatments. We need genetic and epigenetic research to develop more novel and targeted treatments, along with providing public education on these findings as a way to de-stigmatize mental health diseases.

Walt’s Waltz is honored to partner with CHCF Brain Foundation as we develop our film series Mental Health Moonshot. This series will compliment our art exhibit at Greenville Center for Creative Arts titled Mental Health Moonshot opening in May 2024. The goal of this Moonshot Initiative is to educate our community about the role genetics and epigenetics can play in Mental Health Conditions and Diseases. Simply put, mental health conditions can be inherited. When epigenetics is involved, there is an intermingling of both nature and nurture. We also work to promote equity concerning fundamental and translational research to better understand the root causes of severe mental health conditions at molecular levels (Primary Prevention) as we see in other diseases and conditions.