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Friends of BrainHealth awarded more than $466,000 in 2026 grants for seven projects on brain health and dementia prevention. The seed funding is intended to help researchers build evidence and compete for larger grants from Texas’s Dementia Prevention and Research Institute; it does not establish that the projects’ approaches work.
The Friends of BrainHealth donor circle has awarded more than $466,000 to seven 2026 research projects addressing dementia risk, early brain changes and caregiver well-being. The awards, recognized September 28 in Dallas, provide seed funding that organizers say can help Center for BrainHealth researchers develop work for possible competition for larger Texas state grants.
Six projects were recognized at the Ramona Jones Friends of BrainHealth Scientist Selection Luncheon at Dallas Country Club, while three finalists competed for a seventh award in a live audience vote. The resulting projects span early detection, cognitive resilience, metabolic health, dementia risk profiling and support for caregivers. The reported award total is more than $466,000; the source does not provide individual grant amounts.
Three awards went to established investigators in the new Visionary Scientist category. Zhengsi Chang and Ziwei Zhang will study biomarker patterns linked with cognitive resilience across different courses of Alzheimer’s disease. Francesca Filbey’s project will use longitudinal neuroimaging to examine brain resilience and metabolic health in the setting of GLP-1-based therapy. Dan Krawczyk will investigate a light-guided training intervention intended to improve brain health and reduce dementia risk.
Four awards went to emerging scientists. Mary Glen will examine the reliability and validity of the BrainHealth Index for monitoring early brain changes, with Sandra Bond Chapman as mentor. Gayathri Maruthy will develop dementia risk and resilience profiles using eight determinants. Ashley Campos and Stephanie Rodriguez will test a mindfulness-based approach for dementia caregivers. Christine Dugas, selected through the audience vote, will study whether retinal vascular and neuronal health measures relate to dementia risk factors and changes in the BrainHealth Index.
Seed Grants Target Dementia Research
The awards support research at stages when investigators are testing measures, studying possible risk patterns or evaluating interventions. That early work can help establish whether a research question is feasible and worth pursuing at a larger scale. In this case, the donor circle explicitly links its seed funding to a potential next step: preparing researchers to compete for multimillion-dollar grants from the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
The topics also address different parts of the dementia challenge. Earlier detection and risk profiling may help researchers characterize changes before substantial impairment; caregiver well-being focuses on people providing support to those living with dementia. These are research aims, not demonstrated clinical benefits. The source does not report results from the newly funded projects, and the grants should not be read as evidence that any proposed tool or intervention prevents dementia.
For Texas research institutions, the awards offer a bridge between private philanthropy and larger public funding opportunities. Whether the projects produce findings that support expanded studies or future applications remains to be seen.
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Two Decades of Seed Funding
Friends of BrainHealth was established to give researchers early support for ideas that may not yet have enough evidence to secure larger awards. The organization reports that, over nearly 20 years, it has raised $6 million and awarded 69 seedling grants. The 2026 awards continue that model while adding the Visionary Scientist category alongside Emerging Scientist funding.
The new state-level opportunity named by the donor circle is the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, or DPRIT. According to the report, the current grants are meant to help researchers strengthen the scientific basis for proposals to that institute and support translational research over the coming decade. The awards themselves are philanthropic seed grants; they are not DPRIT grants, and the source does not say that any of these projects has already received state funding.
The selection event combines donor support with researcher presentations and audience participation. Three finalists competed for the last award in a live vote, with Dugas’s early-detection project receiving the Audience Choice Emerging Scientist Award.
“This year, our community of supporters invested more than $466,000 in innovative research focused on brain health and dementia prevention.”
— Andy Walsh, 2026 Friends of BrainHealth campaign co-chair
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Projects Have Yet to Report Findings
The announcement describes planned research, not study results. It does not give project timelines, participant numbers, methods in detail, or individual grant amounts. It also does not identify which projects, if any, will apply for DPRIT funding or whether those applications will be successful.
The project descriptions set out questions and intended approaches, including testing a mindfulness-based caregiver intervention and examining GLP-1-based therapy through neuroimaging. They do not establish effectiveness, safety, or dementia-prevention benefits. The source also does not specify the schedule or criteria for any future state grant competitions.
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Research and State Grant Applications
The funded investigators are expected to carry out the proposed work, though the announcement gives no project-specific start or completion dates. The near-term measure of progress will be whether the studies produce evidence that can guide further research, such as validation of an early-change measure or findings about risk and resilience profiles.
Friends of BrainHealth presents the awards as preparation for researchers to compete for larger DPRIT grants. Any applications, decisions, or broader translational studies would follow through separate processes, and no future awards are confirmed in the announcement. Readers can expect more information as the studies report results and state funding opportunities become clearer.
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Key Questions
How much funding did the 2026 awards provide?
Friends of BrainHealth said its supporters invested more than $466,000 in the 2026 research awards. The announcement does not list the amount for each project.
How many projects received awards?
Seven projects were recognized: six at the September 28 luncheon and one selected through an audience vote among three finalists.
Do the grants show that the projects can prevent dementia?
No. The grants fund proposed research. The announcement provides no results showing that the projects’ measures or interventions prevent dementia or improve health outcomes.
What is the connection to Texas state funding?
The donor circle says the seed grants are intended to help researchers build a scientific foundation to compete for larger grants from the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The announcement does not say that any project has received DPRIT funding.
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