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Ramona Jones Friends of BrainHealth Lunch Had Record-Breaking Turnout and Fundraising

Ramona Jones with the 2024 Friends of BrainHealth Co-Chairs.

My Sweet Charity

Jeanne Prejean

Overview

At the 2024 Ramona Jones Friends of BrainHealth luncheon, Center For BrainHealth celebrated their 25 years of transformative BrainHealth research with a record-breaking crowd, including benefactor Ramona Jones and her family, as well as a bevy of Dallas philanthropists alongside up-and-coming brain health science researchers. Culminating a year of silver anniversary celebrations, the event marked record-breaking fundraising and attendance for the annual Friends of BrainHealth campaign and the second year the luncheon was sponsored by 96-year-old founding BrainHealth board member Ramona Jones, “the poster girl for BrainHealth,” according to Dr. Sandi Chapman.The annual event features emerging researchers as they vie for a seedling grant to help fund a new brain health pilot study. This year's research finalists, Micaela Andreo, Tracy Brown and Ashley Campos, engaged in a “Shark Tank”-style competition moderated by Dr. Lori Cook, pitching novel proposals to investigate brain mechanisms affecting MCI and memory, autism and pain management, and mindfulness and stress management. The live audience voted in real time to select Andreo to receive a Visionary New Scientist grant of $20,000 for her MCI study, Improving the Effectiveness of Cognitive Training in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Social Networks to Improve Cognitive Networks.In addition, audience members heard from contest applicants whose proposals had already been selected for funding by Friends of BrainHealth donors who donated at the highest level this year. Dr. Jessica Kraft (Beverly and Don Freeman Visionary New Scientist) will explore cognitive aging trajectories in a novel longitudinal project; Jessica Ma (Lyda Hill Philanthropies Visionary New Scientist) will study the brain-basis for cognitive deficits in multiple sclerosis using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neuropsychological testing; and Hulon Sherard (2024 Kay and Will Beecherl Visionary New Scientist) will seek to identify new biomarkers and treatment approaches in the first whole-brain examination of function with consideration to aging and Alzheimer’s.In closing comments, Sarah Schoellkopf introduced Pam Busbee and Emilynn Wilson as incoming co-chairs for the 2025 campaign and shared the enduring spirit of connectedness by welcoming the crowd to take a moment to imagine a transcendent "Friends of BrainHealth group hug."Read the full article in My Sweet Charity

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Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD

Chief Director Dee Wyly Distinguished Professor, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences Co-Leader, The BrainHealth Project

Ramona Jones

Jolie Humphrey

Bart Humphrey

Nikki Kapioltas

Chad Cook

Sarah Schoellkopf

Will Schoellkopf

Lori Cook, PhD, CCC-SLP

Director of Clinical Research Head of Research, The BrainHealth Project Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences

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