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Friends of BrainHealth awarded grants to six research projects on brain health and dementia prevention, and held a public vote for a seventh award. The donor circle says it invested more than $466,000 this year; the funding is intended to help researchers build evidence and compete for larger Texas grants, not to announce completed findings.
Friends of BrainHealth awarded grants to projects studying early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, caregiver well-being and metabolic health at its 2026 research awards on September 28 in Dallas. The donor circle said supporters invested more than $466,000 this year, providing early funding that researchers hope will help them develop projects for larger-scale study and compete for Texas state grants.
Six projects were recognized at the Ramona Jones Friends of BrainHealth Scientist Selection Luncheon at Dallas Country Club. Three finalists also competed for an audience-choice award through a live vote, bringing the number of funded projects to seven. The report describes the event as a “Shark Tank” style competition, reflecting the donor circle’s practice of involving supporters in selecting research.
The awards cover several stages and dimensions of brain health. Projects include examining whether the BrainHealth Index can track early changes, developing profiles of dementia risk and resilience, and exploring links between retinal and neuronal health. Other work will test a mindfulness-based approach to support dementia caregivers and investigate a light-guided training intervention.
Three awards went to established investigators in a newly added Visionary Scientist category. Zhengsi Chang and Ziwei Zhang will study biomarker patterns associated with cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease. Francesca Filbey will lead a longitudinal neuroimaging study on metabolic health and GLP-1-based therapy. Dan Krawczyk’s project will investigate a light-guided training intervention. Emerging-scientist awards went to Mary Glen, Gayathri Maruthy, Ashley Campos and Stephanie Rodriguez, and Christine Dugas, whose project received the audience-choice award.
Seed Grants Target Larger Texas Research
The grants matter as early-stage research support: they give investigators funding to test approaches, gather evidence and refine plans before seeking larger awards. Friends of BrainHealth says the 2026 funding is intended to help its researchers compete for multimillion-dollar grants from the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, or DPRIT.
That pathway could expand work on dementia prevention and brain health over the coming decade, but the awards themselves do not establish that any intervention prevents dementia or improves health. The funded projects are investigations, not reported results. Their potential relevance lies in the questions they are designed to answer, including how early changes might be tracked, which factors are linked with resilience, and how caregivers can be supported.
The caregiver and metabolic-health projects also broaden the program beyond detection alone. They examine issues that can affect people living with dementia and those supporting them, while the biomarker and index studies focus on measuring brain changes and risk. Whether these lines of research produce tools or interventions suitable for wider use remains to be tested.
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A Two-Decade Funding Record
Friends of BrainHealth has supported researchers at the Center for BrainHealth for nearly 20 years. According to the report, the donor circle has raised $6 million and awarded 69 seedling grants since it began. The group’s model is to provide early philanthropic funding to projects that may later be developed and pursued through larger research grants.
The 2026 program adds a Visionary Scientist category alongside awards for emerging scientists. The report connects this year’s funding to the new opportunity presented by DPRIT, describing the seed grants as a way to strengthen research proposals for substantially larger state support. It does not say that any of the current awardees have received DPRIT funding.
The awards were announced following the September 28 luncheon. The seven projects span early detection, dementia risk and resilience, Alzheimer’s disease, caregiver well-being, cognitive resilience and metabolic health; the report provides project descriptions but no study results.
““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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Research Outcomes Still Pending
The report does not provide details about the size of each award, project timelines or planned participant numbers. It also does not specify when any findings will be published or whether the researchers have submitted applications to DPRIT. The stated aim of competing for larger grants should not be read as a guarantee of funding.
All seven projects are at a research or testing stage. The report gives no results showing that the BrainHealth Index can reliably detect early changes, that retinal measures predict dementia risk, or that the proposed training and caregiver approaches are effective. Those questions depend on the studies’ methods and findings, which have not yet been reported.
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Evidence and Grant Applications Ahead
The next steps are for the research teams to carry out the work described in their proposals and report findings. The source does not give a schedule for those milestones. Researchers may use seed-grant results to strengthen applications for larger DPRIT awards, but no application or award outcome is confirmed in the report.
Readers can expect the significance of this funding to become clearer as the projects produce evidence on measurement, risk profiles, resilience and caregiver support. Until then, the awards mark an investment in research questions rather than a demonstrated advance in dementia prevention.
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Key Questions
How many projects received Friends of BrainHealth awards?
Seven projects were funded: six were recognized at the September 28 luncheon, and a seventh received the audience-choice award after a live vote.
How much funding was announced?
Campaign co-chair Andy Walsh said supporters invested more than $466,000 in 2026 research. The report does not list the amount awarded to each project.
What topics will the funded studies examine?
The projects cover early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, Alzheimer’s-related cognitive resilience, metabolic health, caregiver well-being, a light-guided training intervention and the eye-brain connection.
Have the grants shown that any approach prevents dementia?
No. The awards fund research projects, and the report provides no findings establishing that any proposed measure or intervention prevents dementia or improves health.
Are the researchers guaranteed larger Texas grants?
No. Friends of BrainHealth says the seed funding is intended to help researchers compete for multimillion-dollar DPRIT grants. The report does not confirm that any awardee has applied for or received that funding.
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