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Friends of BrainHealth awarded more than $466,000 to seven 2026 research projects at the Center for BrainHealth, covering dementia risk, early detection, resilience and caregiver well-being. The awards are intended to help researchers develop evidence for possible larger grants from Texas’s Dementia Prevention and Research Institute.
Friends of BrainHealth awarded more than $466,000 to support seven research projects at the Center for BrainHealth, with studies spanning early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic health and caregiver well-being. The awards were recognized September 28 at the Ramona Jones Friends of BrainHealth Scientist Selection Luncheon in Dallas and are intended to help researchers build evidence for larger state funding opportunities.
The 2026 awards include three grants in a new Visionary Scientist category for experienced principal investigators, alongside awards for emerging researchers. Six projects were selected for awards, while three finalists competed for a seventh grant through a live audience vote. The event uses a “Shark Tank”-style format, according to the source report, giving donors a role in choosing one project.
The Visionary Scientist projects will examine biomarkers linked to cognitive resilience across different courses of Alzheimer’s disease; brain resilience and metabolic health in a longitudinal study of 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 and approaches; they do not report findings or establish that the interventions prevent dementia.
The Emerging Scientists awards support work on the BrainHealth Index’s reliability for monitoring early changes; dementia risk and resilience profiles based on eight determinants; a mindfulness-based approach to caregiver well-being; and the relationship between retinal vascular and neuronal health and dementia risk factors. The last project, by Christine Dugas, PhD, was selected through the audience vote. The source identifies Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD, Jeff Spence, PhD, and Bart Rypma, PhD, as mentors on several of the emerging-scientist projects.
Seed Grants Aim for Larger Texas Research
The awards provide early-stage research funding at a time when the state’s Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, or DPRIT, presents a potential route to substantially larger grants. The Center for BrainHealth says the 2026 funding is meant to help researchers strengthen the scientific basis of their ideas and compete for those state awards. That is a stated aim, not confirmation that any project will receive DPRIT funding.
For readers, the projects matter because they address several parts of the dementia research and care landscape: identifying changes earlier, understanding why some people maintain cognitive function, examining health factors associated with resilience, and supporting caregivers. The grants pay for investigation, not established treatments or proven prevention strategies. Whether the work produces findings that can guide clinical practice or broader programs will depend on the studies’ results and further testing.
Caregiver well-being is also included alongside biological and cognitive research. The mindfulness-based project will test an approach for people caring for someone with dementia, but the announcement does not provide trial details or results. Its inclusion signals that the funding portfolio covers both potential risk and detection research and the effects of dementia on families.
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A Nearly 20-Year Funding Record
Friends of BrainHealth is a donor circle that has supported research at the Center for BrainHealth for nearly two decades. According to the report, it has raised $6 million and awarded 69 seedling grants since it began. The group describes these grants as early support that lets scientists test ideas and gather evidence before seeking larger funding.
The 2026 awards extend that model while adding the Visionary Scientist category. The change broadens the program beyond emerging researchers to include seasoned principal investigators, according to the report. The luncheon on September 28 combined grant recognition with the audience selection of one additional project, continuing the donor group’s practice of engaging supporters directly with research proposals.
DPRIT is the relevant state funding opportunity in this year’s announcement. The report says Friends of BrainHealth grants are intended to help Center for BrainHealth researchers compete for multimillion-dollar awards from the institute and support translational research over the coming decade. It does not say that DPRIT has awarded funding to these projects or specify a schedule for applications or decisions.
“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
Study Results and State Funding Pending
The announcement describes the funded projects but does not provide study budgets, timelines, participant numbers, or detailed methods. It also does not report results, so it remains unknown whether any proposed measure or intervention will prove reliable, effective, or useful beyond the research setting.
It is also unclear which, if any, of the grant recipients will apply for or receive DPRIT funding. The source frames the awards as a way to build a foundation for competing for larger grants, not as a guarantee of state support. No DPRIT application dates, award decisions, or amounts for these particular projects are given.
Research and Grant Applications Ahead
The researchers will carry out the projects described in their proposals, with the seed grants supporting early investigation. The Center for BrainHealth says this work is intended to strengthen future applications to DPRIT and help expand promising research into broader translational studies. The source does not give a timetable for project milestones, publications, or grant submissions.
The next substantive updates will depend on study progress and any future funding decisions. Until researchers report results, the proposed approaches should be understood as questions under investigation rather than proven methods for preventing dementia or improving brain health.
Key Questions
How much funding did Friends of BrainHealth provide in 2026?
The group said supporters invested more than $466,000 in the 2026 research awards. The source does not list the amount assigned to each project.
How many projects received awards?
Seven projects received awards: six were recognized at the September 28 luncheon, and a seventh was selected by an audience vote from three finalists.
What topics do the funded studies cover?
The projects address early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, Alzheimer’s-related biomarkers, metabolic health, a light-guided training approach, caregiver well-being, and possible links between eye health and dementia risk.
Do the awards mean the projects have shown that dementia can be prevented?
No. The grants fund research proposals, and the announcement reports no study results. It does not establish that any of the proposed approaches prevents dementia.
Are the projects guaranteed larger Texas grants?
No. Friends of BrainHealth says the seed funding is intended to help researchers compete for grants from DPRIT. The report does not say that any of the projects has received or is guaranteed state funding.
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