Opts introduced CIGNA and MIT (both are our clients) to each other after recognizing an opportunity for them to collaborate in way that could be mutually beneficial.

The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT focuses the talents of a diverse array of brain scientists on a single mission: unraveling the mechanisms that drive the quintessentially human capacity to remember and to learn. The overall goal for The Picower Center is to be recognized as a leader in the field of neuroscience in general, and as the undisputed leader in the area of Learning and Memory.

CIGNA is an employee benefits company that is positioned to help companies succeed and help people enjoy a better quality of life through managed healthcare plans offered through employers. CIGNA wanted to be seen as a thought leader, and the managed healthcare company that top executives think of first when considering innovation and change.

Opts proposed a single solution that could accomplish the objectives of both its clients, The Open Mind Series, a new program that featured 2-3 conferences annually, hosted at the MIT campus. The Open Mind Series would address topics of real significance and relevance, including, depression's impact on the workplace, memory's role in addiction, mental retardation and other childhood learning disorders, and learning and memory in an aging population.

The first conference, On Depression, included a Poet laureate, Robert Pinsky, alongside a Nobel laureate, Susumu Tonegawa; a famous author who treats depression, Peter Kramer, and a famous author who is depressed; Susanna Kaysen (Girl, Interrupted). The audience was witness to both the neuroscience of depression and the personal experiences of individuals who have suffered from this disease, as well the cost of depression in the workplace some novel approaches managed care companies like CIGNA are implementing.

The second conference, On Addiction, brought the world's foremost experts together to emphasize that addiction is a disease, not merely a social problem. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute for Drug Abuse was joined by the former Director of the National Institute for Mental Health, Steven Hyman along with clinicians, recovered addicts and public policy makers. William Moyers, son of the journalist Bill Moyers, is a recovered addict, and powerfully delivered the human side of addiction.

The conference raised the visibility for both the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and CIGNA. The conference held in 2006, On Addiction, made the front page of the Boston Globe and was the inspiration for an 8-page feature in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, extending the impact of this relatively small meeting to millions. NPR's Science Friday dedicated one of its programs to interviews with the speakers from the conference.

The series generated a large number of print and Internet articles, and sparked interest from all the stakeholders. Finally, it demonstrated how an academic institution like MIT can successfully partner with a company like CIGNA to bring thought-provoking and novel ideas to the forefront.