RENO — The Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease will host its fifth annual “I Hope You Dance” fundraising gala honoring Sen. and Mrs. Bill Raggio with the Lifetime Achievement Award for their support of those who suffer from neuro-immune diseases.

This year’s “Grease”-themed event will be held in the new Tuscany Towers at the Peppermill Resort Casino on Sept. 12 at 5:30 p.m. The night’s entertainment includes music of the 1950s and 1960s by the Jeff Leap Band and will be highlighted by choreographed dance performances.

Proceeds from the gala will provide continued funding for the translational research program at the University of Nevada, Reno’s School of Medicine pertaining to chronic neuro-immune disorders including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and other similarly presenting disorders.

Individual tickets and tables are still available and can be purchased by calling 321-5974. To purchase tickets or a table and to learn more about the Whittemore Peterson Institute, visit www.wpinstitute.org.

Located within the UNR School of Medicine’s Center for Molecular Medicine, the Whittemore Peterson Institute will be the nation’s first comprehensive translational research facility dedicated to the research and treatment of neuro-immune diseases when it opens September of 2010.