image: UT Dallas School of Behavior and Brain Science Dean Adam J. Woods, PhD, (center) alongside the 2025 Friends of BrainHealth Scientist Selection winners and finalists.
Credit: Center for BrainHealth
On September 29, 2025, the Ramona Jones Friends of BrainHealth Luncheon took scientific innovation to a new level, while celebrating the 97th birthday of founding BrainHealth Advisory Board Member Ramona Jones.
The annual contest offers talented young brain health researchers a chance to earn $20,000 in grant funding for novel pilot studies. On stage at the Dallas Country Club, finalists competed Shark Tank-style, and the live audience in attendance voted in real time to select the final grant recipient. BrainHealth Founder and Chief Director Sandi Chapman, PhD, remarked on the growing importance of private funding for scientific research, and the life-changing impact of this contest in “fueling the next generation of scientists in optimizing brain health.”
2025 grant recipients include:
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Anna Thompson (research assistant in the labs of Kristen Kennedy, PhD, and Karen Rodrigue, PhD), recipient of the Jennifer and Peter Roberts Visionary New Scientist Award for the proposed study Differential Impact of Neurological Cellular Integrity on Age-Related Brain Changes. Thompson was selected for this award at the event, in real time by the live audience in attendance.
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Audrina Ebrahimi (doctoral student in the lab of biostatistican Jeff Spence, PhD), recipient of the Cindy and Charlie Feld Visionary New Scientist Award for the proposed study Using Biomarkers of Neurovascular Health to Predict Brain Health Indices. Ebrahimi was pre-selected for this award by a select committee of researchers and community leaders.
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Maximilian Ciesla (research assistant in the Developmental Social Affective Neuroscience (DSAN) Lab led by Leehyun Yoon, PhD), recipient of the Maisie Heiken Visionary New Scientist Award for the proposed study How the Adolescent Brain Updates Self-Esteem from Social Feedback: Toward Early Prevention of Mental Health Problems. Ciesla was pre-selected for this award by a select committee of researchers and community leaders.
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Micaela Andreo (doctoral student in the NeuroPsychometric Research Lab (NPR Lab) led by Bart Rypma, PhD), recipient of the Lyda Hill Philanthropies Visionary New Scientist Award for the proposed study Targeting Nutrient Delivery Pathways in the Brain: A Missing Link in Alzheimer’s Therapy. 2025 marked Andreo's second year in the competition, after receiving the audience-choice award at the 2024 luncheon. Andreo was pre-selected for the 2025 award by a select committee of researchers and community leaders.
Two additional finalists presented their proposals in the contest and continue to seek funding:
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Taesun Kim (working in the Laboratory for Healthy Social-Emotional Development led by Alva Tang, PhD) proposed a youth mental health study, Adolescent Self-Compassion: Neural and Emotional Effects of a Home-Based Intervention.
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Research team Ashley Campos and Stephanie Rodriguez (working in the NeuroPsychometric Research Lab led by Bart Rypma, PhD) proposed an investigation of mindfulness and mood, A Guiding Light to Mindfulness: On the Journey from Depression to Resilience.
The contest also marked the third consecutive year Ramona Jones and her family have sponsored the event, which also serves as a continuation of her birthday celebrations. “Don’t you want your kids to give you a birthday party like this?” BrainHealth Founder and Chief Director Sandi Chapman, PhD, asked guests the crowded ballroom of attendees. Chapman lauded Jones as the "poster girl for BrainHealth," crediting some of the founding board member's longevity to her "brain-healthy" lifestyle.
BrainHealth Deputy Director of Research Dan Krawczyk, PhD, moderated the contest panel discussion. The audience also included several members of UT Dallas administration, including: School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) Dean Adam J. Woods, PhD; Vice President for Research and Innovation Joseph Pancrazio, PhD; Vice President for Administration and Chief of Staff Rafael Martín, PhD; and Vice President for Facilities and Economic Development Calvin Jamison, PhD.
About Center for BrainHealth at UT Dallas
Center for BrainHealth® , part of The University of Texas at Dallas, is a translational research institute committed to enhancing, preserving, and restoring brain health across the lifespan. Major research areas include the use of functional and structural neuroimaging techniques to better understand the neurobiology supporting cognition and emotion in health and disease. This leading-edge scientific exploration is translated quickly into practical innovations to improve how people think, work and live, empowering people of all ages to unlock their potential through optimal brain performance. Translational innovations leverage 1) the BrainHealth Index, a proprietary measure that uniquely charts one’s upward (or downward) holistic brain health trajectory; and 2) Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics (SMART™), a strategy-based methodology developed and tested by BrainHealth researchers and other teams over three decades.