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The Friends of BrainHealth awarded six research grants and selected a seventh project through a live audience vote at a Sept. 28 event in Dallas. The projects span early brain-change detection, dementia risk and resilience, caregiver well-being and metabolic health, with seed funding intended to help researchers build proposals for larger Texas grants.
The Friends of BrainHealth donor circle recognized seven 2026 research projects on September 28 in Dallas, awarding seed funding for work on dementia risk, early brain changes, caregiver well-being and cognitive resilience. The awards are designed to help Center for BrainHealth researchers develop ideas and evidence that could support applications for larger grants from the state’s Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
Six projects received awards at the Ramona Jones Friends of BrainHealth Scientist Selection Luncheon at Dallas Country Club, according to the report published by News-Medical. Three finalists then competed for a seventh award in a live audience vote, a format the donor circle describes as a “Shark Tank”-style competition. The report does not provide individual award amounts, but says the supporters invested more than $466,000 in research this year.
The three Visionary Scientist awards support projects on cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic health and brain resilience in people receiving GLP-1-based therapy, and a light-guided training intervention intended to improve brain health and reduce dementia risk. The project descriptions outline research questions; they do not report findings or show that the proposed interventions prevent dementia.
Four Emerging Scientist awards back work to assess the BrainHealth Index as a way to monitor early changes, develop profiles of dementia risk and resilience using eight determinants, test a mindfulness-based approach for dementia caregivers, and study whether retinal vascular and neuronal health measures relate to dementia risk factors. The retinal project will also track change using the BrainHealth Index. The report lists the investigators and mentors but does not give study timelines, participant numbers or methods beyond these summaries.
Seed Funding Aims at Larger Texas Grants
The awards matter because they connect early philanthropic support with a possible next step: pursuing larger public grants. The report says the emergence of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas creates an opportunity for researchers to seek multimillion-dollar state funding. Friends of BrainHealth says the 2026 grants can help strengthen the scientific foundation needed to compete for that funding and expand promising projects into translational research.
That pathway is an aim, not a guaranteed outcome. Seed grants can let teams test whether a research idea is workable and assemble preliminary evidence, but the announcement does not say that any award recipient has secured DPRIT funding. For readers, the projects offer a snapshot of the questions local researchers are preparing to investigate, rather than evidence that new detection tools or prevention approaches are already effective.
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A Two-Decade Philanthropic Program
Friends of BrainHealth has supported research at the Center for BrainHealth for nearly 20 years. The report says the donor circle has raised $6 million and awarded 69 seedling grants since its founding, providing early backing to scientists pursuing approaches to understanding, protecting and strengthening brain health.
This year’s awards also expand the program’s categories. Alongside Emerging Scientists, the 2026 funding includes a Visionary Scientist category with three awards for established principal investigators. The event combines donor funding with direct involvement in choosing a project: six awards were recognized at the luncheon, while attendees voted among three finalists for the audience-choice 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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Research Results Have Not Been Reported
The announcement describes funded research plans, not completed studies. It does not report results, participant numbers, grant amounts by project or when the projects are expected to finish. It also does not identify a DPRIT application deadline or say whether the awardees have applied for state funding. The extent to which any project will produce findings that can be applied in clinical or community settings remains unknown.
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Studies and Funding Bids Ahead
The immediate next step is for the funded teams to carry out the work described in their proposals and build evidence that could inform later research. According to the report, the awards are intended to help position Center for BrainHealth researchers to compete for DPRIT funding, but it gives no schedule for applications or decisions. Further updates would be needed to establish whether the projects produce results, progress to larger studies or receive additional public funding.
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Key Questions
How many Friends of BrainHealth projects received awards in 2026?
Seven projects received awards: six were recognized at the September 28 luncheon, and one was selected by audience vote from three finalists.
How much funding was invested this year?
The campaign co-chair said supporters invested more than $466,000 in 2026 research. The report does not specify how much each project received.
What topics will the funded projects study?
The projects cover early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic health, caregiver well-being and possible eye-brain measures related to dementia risk.
Have the grants shown that the proposed approaches prevent dementia?
No results are reported. The announcement describes research that will investigate these questions; it does not establish that the proposed tools or interventions prevent dementia.
Will the researchers receive larger Texas grants?
That is not confirmed. Friends of BrainHealth says the seed grants are intended to help researchers compete for larger awards from the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, but no state grants are announced in the report.
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