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Friends of BrainHealth recognized six projects at its September 28, 2026, awards event and selected a seventh through a live audience vote. The projects cover early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, caregiver well-being, metabolic health and Alzheimer’s disease; the awards are intended to help researchers build evidence for larger funding bids.
Friends of BrainHealth awarded grants to seven brain health research projects in its 2026 awards round, supporting work on early changes in the brain, dementia risk and resilience, caregiver well-being and Alzheimer’s disease. Six projects were recognized at a September 28 event, while attendees selected a seventh through a live vote, according to News-Medical’s report.
The grants span several stages and areas of research. Projects include testing whether the BrainHealth Index can reliably track early brain changes, developing profiles of dementia risk and resilience, and studying a mindfulness-based approach intended to support dementia caregivers. Other work will examine cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic health in connection with GLP-1-based therapy, and a light-guided training intervention designed to address brain health and dementia risk.
The awards were presented at the Ramona Jones Friends of BrainHealth Scientist Selection Luncheon at Dallas Country Club. Six projects received awards through the program, and three finalists competed for the audience-choice award in a live format described by the report as “Shark Tank” style. The seventh award went to Christine Dugas for a study of the relationship between retinal vascular health, neuronal health and dementia risk factors.
This year’s funding included a new Visionary Scientist category for established principal investigators, alongside the Emerging Scientists category. The listed recipients include Zhengsi Chang and Ziwei Zhang, Francesca Filbey and Dan Krawczyk in the visionary group, and Mary Glen, Gayathri Maruthy, Ashley Campos and Stephanie Rodriguez, and Dugas among the emerging scientists. The report says supporters invested more than $466,000 in research this year; it does not provide individual award amounts.
Small Grants, Larger Funding Ambitions
The awards are intended to do more than support individual studies: they may help researchers produce early evidence and develop proposals for larger state funding. News-Medical reports that the 2026 grants are positioned to help Center for BrainHealth researchers compete for multimillion-dollar grants from the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, or DPRIT. That makes the program relevant to the future scale of the work, not just the projects funded this year.
The research questions also touch people at different points in dementia prevention and care. Earlier detection and risk profiling could inform future research on identifying changes and resilience, while the caregiver project focuses on the well-being of people supporting those with dementia. These are research aims, however, not demonstrated clinical outcomes: the supplied report does not say that any of the interventions have been shown to prevent dementia or improve patient outcomes.
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A Two-Decade Seed-Funding Program
Friends of BrainHealth is a donor circle that has supported research at the Center for BrainHealth for nearly 20 years. According to the report, it has raised $6 million and awarded 69 seedling grants since its inception. The program’s stated approach is to provide early funding so scientists can test ideas and build evidence that may support further research.
The 2026 awards arrive as DPRIT offers a potential route to larger-scale research funding in Texas. The source describes the Friends of BrainHealth grants as helping researchers prepare to compete for those awards. It does not say that any of the funded projects have received DPRIT funding, or specify when applications or decisions for those larger grants will occur.
“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, as quoted in News-Medical
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Award Amounts and Study Results
The report does not list how much each project received, the study timelines, or detailed methods and participant numbers. It also does not identify which researchers will apply for DPRIT grants, the application schedule, or whether any applications have been submitted.
The projects are described as investigations or tests. Their results are not reported, and the source provides no evidence that the approaches will prevent dementia, detect it earlier in routine care, or change treatment. The extent to which the grant-funded findings will lead to larger studies remains unknown.
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Studies and State Grant Bids
The next steps are for the research teams to carry out the projects and report their findings. The awards are designed to support that early work and, in the program’s account, help investigators build a stronger basis for pursuing larger DPRIT grants. No specific research milestones, publication dates or state grant deadlines are included in the source report.
Readers should look for updates from the Center for BrainHealth and the individual research teams about study progress, results and any subsequent funding decisions. Until those details emerge, the awards mark a funding commitment and a set of research plans rather than completed findings.
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Key Questions
How many projects received Friends of BrainHealth awards in 2026?
Seven projects received awards: six were recognized at the September 28 event, and a seventh was chosen by audience vote from three finalists.
What topics will the funded studies investigate?
The projects cover early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, caregiver well-being, cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic health and a light-guided training intervention.
How much funding was invested this year?
The report says supporters invested more than $466,000 in 2026 research. It does not give individual award amounts.
Have the grants shown that the proposed approaches prevent dementia?
No results are reported. The grants fund research projects; the source does not establish that any approach prevents dementia or improves clinical outcomes.
How do the awards relate to Texas state grants?
The program says its seed funding can help researchers build evidence and compete for larger grants from the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The source does not report any DPRIT awards to these projects.
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