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Friends of BrainHealth awarded 2026 grants to seven research projects on brain health and dementia, after six awards were recognized at a September 28 luncheon and a seventh was chosen by audience vote. The donor group says this year’s more than $466,000 in support is intended to help researchers build evidence for potential larger grants from Texas’s dementia research institute.
Friends of BrainHealth awarded funding to seven research projects in 2026, backing work on dementia risk, early brain changes, resilience and caregiver well-being. The awards, recognized at a September 28 luncheon in Dallas, total more than $466,000, according to campaign co-chair Andy Walsh, and are intended to help researchers develop evidence for potential larger grants from the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
Six projects were recognized at the Ramona Jones Friends of BrainHealth Scientist Selection Luncheon at Dallas Country Club. Three finalists then competed for a seventh award in a live audience vote. Christine Dugas, whose project examines links between retinal vascular and neuronal health and dementia risk, received the Audience Choice Emerging Scientist Award.
The grants cover two award categories. Three Visionary Scientist awards support projects led by Zhengsi Chang and Ziwei Zhang, Francesca Filbey, and Dan Krawczyk. Their research will examine cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease, brain resilience and metabolic health in relation to GLP-1-based therapy, and a light-guided training intervention intended to improve brain health and reduce dementia risk.
Four Emerging Scientist awards support work on validating the BrainHealth Index to monitor early changes; building dementia risk and resilience profiles from eight determinants; testing a mindfulness-based approach to support dementia caregivers; and evaluating whether retinal scans and measures of neuronal health relate to dementia risk. The projects are research proposals, not evidence that the approaches already prevent dementia or improve health outcomes.
Seed Funding for Texas Research
The awards provide early-stage support for researchers to test ideas and develop evidence that may help them seek larger funding. The report says the 2026 grants are intended to position Center for BrainHealth researchers to compete for multimillion-dollar state grants from DPRIT. That is a funding goal, not a guarantee that any project will receive a state award or move directly into broad clinical use.
The subject matter is relevant to people affected by dementia and those who care for them because the funded projects address several stages and dimensions of brain health: possible early indicators, risk and resilience, metabolic factors, and caregiver well-being. Their practical significance will depend on what the studies find, how reliable the measures prove to be, and whether later research confirms any promising results.
Walsh said the donor community contributed more than $466,000 this year. The grants are part of a longer-running philanthropic effort that, according to the report, has raised $6 million and funded 69 seedling grants over nearly 20 years.
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A Nearly 20-Year Grant Program
Friends of BrainHealth is a donor circle supporting research at the Center for BrainHealth. Its model is to provide seed funding so researchers can test early-stage ideas and build a basis for further work. The report describes the 2026 awards as a way to carry that approach into a new funding environment created by DPRIT.
This year’s program expanded beyond its Emerging Scientists category to include three Visionary Scientist awards for seasoned principal investigators. The announcement does not provide award amounts for each individual project, study timelines, or detailed protocols. The grant descriptions outline the questions researchers plan to investigate, rather than reporting completed findings.
“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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Study Results Are Still Ahead
The award announcement does not report results from the newly funded projects. It also does not specify individual grant amounts, study schedules, participant numbers, or when researchers may publish findings. The project descriptions indicate research questions and planned approaches, but do not establish that the BrainHealth Index, retinal scans, mindfulness intervention, light-guided training, or GLP-1-based therapy can prevent dementia.
It is also unclear which researchers will apply for DPRIT funding, when applications may be submitted, or whether the state grants will be awarded. The report describes the Friends of BrainHealth funding as helping researchers compete for larger awards; it does not say that DPRIT has committed funding to these projects.
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Research and Funding Milestones
The next steps are for the funded teams to carry out their proposed studies and report their methods and findings. Those results will be needed to judge whether the early signals or interventions under study warrant larger trials or further development. No publication dates or research milestones were included in the announcement.
Researchers may also use the seed-funded work to pursue DPRIT grants, as the program intends. The timing and outcome of any such applications remain unannounced. For now, the confirmed development is the donor-funded support itself, rather than a demonstrated change in dementia prevention or treatment.
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Key Questions
How many projects received 2026 Friends of BrainHealth awards?
Seven projects received awards. Six were recognized at the September 28 luncheon, and a seventh was selected by audience vote from three finalists.
How much funding did the program provide this year?
Campaign co-chair Andy Walsh said supporters invested more than $466,000 in this year’s research. The announcement does not list individual award amounts.
What research topics do the grants cover?
The projects address early brain changes, dementia risk and resilience, Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic health, caregiver well-being, and possible links between eye health and dementia risk.
Do the awards show that these approaches prevent dementia?
No. The awards fund research into proposed measures and interventions. The announcement provides no study results showing that any approach prevents dementia or improves health outcomes.
Will the projects receive larger Texas state grants?
That is not confirmed. Friends of BrainHealth says the awards are meant to help researchers compete for potential multimillion-dollar grants from DPRIT, but no state awards to these projects were announced.
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