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Friends of BrainHealth awarded support to six research projects in 2026, spanning early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, caregiver well-being, and metabolic health. The donor circle says the awards are intended to help Center for BrainHealth researchers build evidence and compete for larger grants from Texas’ dementia research institute.
The Friends of BrainHealth recognized six research projects with its 2026 awards, funding work on early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, caregiver well-being and metabolic health. The awards are intended to give researchers at the Center for BrainHealth early support as they build projects that could compete for larger grants from the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, according to the organization’s report.
The awards were presented at the Ramona Jones Friends of BrainHealth Scientist Selection Luncheon on September 28 at Dallas Country Club. Three finalists also competed for an audience-choice award in a live, “Shark Tank”-style event. The report identifies Christine Dugas as the audience-choice recipient, for a project examining whether retinal vascular and neuronal health measures relate to dementia risk factors and changes in the BrainHealth Index.
Three awards went to established investigators in the new Visionary Scientist category. Zhengsi Chang and Ziwei Zhang will study biomarker patterns associated with cognitive resilience across differing courses of Alzheimer’s disease. Francesca Filbey will lead a longitudinal neuroimaging study of brain resilience and metabolic health in the setting 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 three other awards support emerging scientists. Mary Glen’s project will examine the reliability and validity of the BrainHealth Index for monitoring early brain changes, with Sandra Bond Chapman as mentor. Gayathri Maruthy will study dementia risk and resilience profiles using eight determinants, with Jeff Spence as mentor. Ashley Campos and Stephanie Rodriguez will test a mindfulness-based approach to support the well-being of dementia caregivers, with Bart Rypma as mentor. The descriptions identify these as research aims; they do not report results.
Early Funding for Texas Dementia Research
The awards provide seed funding for studies at an early stage, when researchers may need preliminary evidence to develop a larger research program. Friends of BrainHealth says this year’s investment is meant to strengthen applications to DPRIT, potentially linking privately supported pilot work with larger state grants and research that can be tested or applied at broader scale.
That pathway matters because the projects address different parts of brain health rather than a single intervention: measuring early changes, examining risk and resilience, studying a therapy-related question, and supporting caregivers. The donor circle reported investing more than $466,000 this year across innovative brain health research. The available report does not give individual award amounts or say that any project has secured DPRIT funding.
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A Two-Decade Seed-Funding Program
Friends of BrainHealth is a donor circle connected with the Center for BrainHealth. The report says it has raised $6 million and awarded 69 seedling grants since its founding nearly 20 years ago. Its stated approach is to help researchers test early ideas and develop evidence that may support subsequent funding and research.
The 2026 awards expanded the program to include a Visionary Scientist category alongside emerging-scientist awards. The announcement links this year’s funding to the opportunity presented by DPRIT, but it does not specify application dates, grant criteria or how much state funding researchers might pursue. The awards mark support for proposed studies, not proof that the approaches prevent dementia or improve health.
“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
Award Amounts and Study Results
The report does not list individual award amounts, project timelines, participant numbers or detailed methods. It also does not say whether any of the projects have applied for, or received, DPRIT grants. The research descriptions set out questions and planned investigations, so it remains unknown what findings the studies will produce or whether any approach will demonstrate an effect on dementia risk or caregiver well-being.
The source refers to six winning projects and describes three visionary and three emerging-scientist awards, including the audience-choice selection. It does not provide additional details about the two other audience finalists or the voting totals.
Projects Build Evidence for Funding
The award recipients are expected to carry out the studies described in their project summaries. The organization presents the funding as an early step toward developing evidence and preparing researchers to compete for larger DPRIT grants. No application schedule, state-grant decisions or study completion dates were included in the announcement.
Readers can expect further updates as the projects progress, but the next reported milestone is not specified. Until results are published, the awards show which research questions Friends of BrainHealth is supporting in 2026, not whether the projects will lead to effective prevention or treatment strategies.
Key Questions
How many projects received Friends of BrainHealth awards in 2026?
Six projects received awards, according to the announcement. Three were in the Visionary Scientist category and three in the emerging-scientist group, including the audience-choice award.
What topics are the funded studies examining?
The projects cover early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, Alzheimer’s-related cognitive resilience, metabolic health, caregiver well-being and possible links between retinal measures and dementia risk.
Do the awards show that the projects prevent dementia?
No. The announcement describes research questions and planned studies, not completed findings. It does not establish that any project or intervention prevents dementia.
Have the researchers received larger Texas grants?
The report says the awards are intended to help researchers build a foundation to compete for grants from the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. It does not say that any recipient has received such a grant.
Source: rss
