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Friends of BrainHealth awarded funding to seven research projects examining dementia risk, early brain changes, cognitive resilience, metabolic health and caregiver well-being. The organization said this year’s awards total more than $466,000 and are intended to help researchers build evidence for potential larger grants from Texas’s dementia research institute.
Friends of BrainHealth has awarded more than $466,000 to seven research projects focused on brain health and dementia prevention, backing work on early detection, dementia risk and resilience, metabolic health, and support for caregivers. The awards, recognized at a September 28 event, are intended to help researchers develop early-stage findings that could support applications for larger grants from the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
Six projects received awards in the group’s established categories, and a seventh was chosen through a live audience vote among three finalists. The awards were presented at the Ramona Jones Friends of BrainHealth Scientist Selection Luncheon at Dallas Country Club. The event’s audience-vote format, described by the report as “Shark Tank”-style, gives donors and attendees a role in selecting one emerging-scientist project.
Three awards went to the new Visionary Scientist category for experienced principal investigators. Zhengsi Chang and Ziwei Zhang will study biomarker patterns associated with cognitive resilience across different courses of Alzheimer’s disease. Francesca Filbey will lead a longitudinal neuroimaging study examining brain resilience and metabolic health in the context of GLP-1-based therapy. Dan Krawczyk’s project will investigate a light-guided training intervention intended to improve brain health and reduce dementia risk.
The four emerging-scientist awards support work at earlier career stages. Mary Glen will examine the reliability and validity of the BrainHealth Index as a way to monitor early changes in brain health. Gayathri Maruthy will develop dementia risk and resilience profiles using eight determinants, with cross-sectional and longitudinal examination. Ashley Campos and Stephanie Rodriguez will test a mindfulness-based approach intended to improve well-being among dementia caregivers. Audience-choice winner Christine Dugas will study links between retinal vascular health, neuronal health and dementia risk factors, using non-invasive retinal scans and the BrainHealth Index.
Seed Grants Target Larger Texas Studies
The awards matter as early-stage research support, not as evidence that any of the projects has already produced a prevention method, diagnostic test or treatment. The Center for BrainHealth says the funding is meant to let researchers test ideas and develop preliminary evidence that may help them compete for larger awards through DPRIT. That creates a possible route from smaller philanthropic grants to more extensive research, although success in obtaining later funding is not guaranteed.
The funded topics also address different parts of dementia and brain health research. Some projects focus on identifying early changes or describing risk and resilience; others investigate cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic health, or caregiver well-being. Taken together, they show the range of questions the donor circle is backing, while the results of each study will be needed to establish whether the proposed approaches are useful.
For people affected by dementia, caregivers and Texas research institutions, the immediate development is the allocation of funding and the opportunity for researchers to build their work. The announcement does not report findings from these projects or establish that their approaches prevent dementia. Any potential benefit will depend on the studies’ methods, results and subsequent research.
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A Nearly 20-Year Funding Record
Friends of BrainHealth is a donor circle that supports research at the Center for BrainHealth. According to the News-Medical report, it has raised $6 million and awarded 69 seedling grants since its formation nearly 20 years ago. The group describes its purpose as providing early support to scientists testing new ideas about understanding, protecting and strengthening brain health.
The 2026 program adds a Visionary Scientist category alongside the Emerging Scientists awards. The report presents that expansion and the emergence of DPRIT as reasons this year’s seed funding may help researchers pursue larger projects. It does not specify the amount of state funding available to these individual awardees, or say that any recipient has secured a DPRIT grant.
“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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Study Results And State Funding
The announcement describes research aims, but it does not provide study findings, timelines or expected completion dates for the seven projects. It is also unclear how much funding each project received, what study populations or methods will be used in every case, and whether the work will lead to later clinical or community applications.
The report says the awards are intended to position researchers to compete for multimillion-dollar DPRIT grants. It does not confirm that any recipient will apply, qualify or receive state funding. The potential of approaches such as retinal scanning, light-guided training or GLP-1-based therapy to affect dementia risk remains a research question, not an established result of these awards.
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Research Moves Beyond Seed Funding
The immediate next step is for the awardees to carry out their proposed studies and establish evidence relevant to their research questions. The Friends of BrainHealth report does not give a public schedule for project milestones or the release of results. Researchers may use their findings to shape later studies and, where appropriate, applications for larger DPRIT grants.
Readers should look for future updates from the Center for BrainHealth and the individual research teams on study progress, methods and results. Until those details are reported, the awards represent a funding commitment and a set of research plans rather than confirmed advances in dementia prevention.
mindfulness for dementia caregivers
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Key Questions
How much funding did Friends of BrainHealth award in 2026?
The campaign co-chair said supporters invested more than $466,000 in this year’s brain health and dementia prevention research. The report does not list the amount awarded to each project.
How many projects received awards?
Seven projects received awards: six were recognized in award categories, and one additional emerging-scientist project was selected by audience vote from three finalists.
What subjects will the funded research examine?
The projects cover early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, Alzheimer’s-related cognitive resilience, metabolic health, a light-guided training intervention, caregiver well-being and possible links between retinal and neuronal health.
Do the awards show that the proposed approaches prevent dementia?
No. The awards fund research into those questions. The announcement reports project plans, not results, and does not establish that any approach prevents dementia or is ready for clinical use.
Will the researchers receive larger Texas grants?
That is not confirmed. Friends of BrainHealth says the seed funding is intended to help researchers build a foundation to compete for larger DPRIT grants, but the report does not say that any awardee has received or secured such funding.
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