image: Yolanda Brown, Kevin Ann Marcyes and Jen Bare part of Sammons Leadership with Bart Rypma (Director of Sammons BrainHealth Imaging Center) and Sandi Chapman (Chief Director of Center for BrainHealth) view more
Credit: Jason Voinov
The Center for BrainHealth®, a pioneering leader in the emerging scientific field of brain health, recently received the largest single donation in its 22-year history. The multi-year gift from Sammons Enterprises will turbo-charge the Center’s ability to pioneer, test and deliver novel metrics that assess gains in brain health and performance.
The Sammons BrainHealth Imaging Center at UTD
In recognition of this transformational investment in the future of BrainHealth, the Center’s state-of-the-art imaging facility will be named the Sammons BrainHealth Imaging Center. This facility houses two 3-Tesla MRI scanners, considered the gold standard for human brain research. This timely investment will power the center’s intellectual capital, the discovery and dissemination of radically new approaches, and the integration of innovative imaging techniques, big data analytics and data visualization to drive new thinking and protocols to advance brain health breakthroughs with urgency.
The gift will fuel three key areas of work:
Brain physiology: cutting-edge imaging techniques that open a window to view brain systems as they are working, assess their efficiency and explore the effects, positive or negative, of therapeutics and cognitive trainings over time
Neuroinformatics: leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence to achieve precision, personalized brain health with the ability to predict an individual’s brain health trajectory and proactively address early concerns
Data visualization: creating a visual interface that brings to life the remarkable, dynamic nature of changes in the brain and allows individuals to have a visible validation of their brain becoming more efficient and with increased synchrony across networks
Information from these three areas will be utilized to develop predictive modeling for prevention and early detection, and to trigger proactive capacity-building interventions.
“The pandemic has brought brain-related challenges into stark reality, creating a global brain health crisis as never before witnessed,” said Sandra Bond Chapman PhD, chief director of the Center for BrainHealth and distinguished professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas. “We must act boldly and urgently, not only to create awareness, but also to provide ready access to proven, proactive steps to benefit people from all walks of life. This timely investment will help us achieve bold milestones in record time so that every woman, man and child can begin to realize their fuller brain potential.”
“The men and women of Sammons Enterprises are pleased to support the leading-edge, science-backed work of the Center for BrainHealth, whose team is showing the world how to shift focus from problem identification to opportunity capitalization that will lead to healthier outcomes, better quality of life and strong societal benefits,” said Heather Kreager, CEO of Sammons Enterprises.
A Milestone of the LIMITLESS Comprehensive BrainHealth Campaign
With the Sammons gift, as well as other lead gifts, the UTD Center for BrainHealth has reached more than 60% of the $50 million goal for its comprehensive campaign, currently in its silent phase. The Limitless Campaign offers a bold vision to transform how people take charge of caring for their brains. BrainHealth’s research and educational mission advances science and translates rapidly emerging brain health discoveries into actionable strategies for people to measurably strengthen and build brain capacity. The campaign will announce its public phase in coming weeks.“Our brain health drives our well-being, clarity of thinking, and social resilience,” continued Dr. Chapman. “Caring for the brain is the cornerstone of our ability to thrive in a constantly changing world. We must tackle brain health with unprecedented focus, determination, and funding to double peak brain years to match our longer lifespan, which has been achieved thanks largely to the doubling of heart health. We are only beginning to understand and truly harness the techniques, strategies and technologies that are most effective for each of us in our unique individual context to make sure our best brain years are ahead of us. We are enormously grateful to Sammons Enterprises and believe their magnanimous humanitarian leadership will motivate other major philanthropic investors to join BrainHealth’s urgent, world-improving efforts.”
About Sammons Enterprises, Inc.Founded in 1938, Sammons Enterprises, Inc. (SEI) is a diverse holding corporation that owns and operates companies in four core business sectors—financial services, industrial equipment and services, real estate and infrastructure. The Company also pursues a broad range of opportunistic investments. The people of Sammons are dedicated to building the world’s premier ESOP-owned company through a commitment to high ethical standards, industry-leading businesses, solid financial performance and a true values-based culture, where every person makes a difference.Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with assets over $100 billion, Sammons Enterprises is one of the largest privately-held companies in the US, consistently ranking in the top 100 on Forbes’ “America’s Largest Private Companies” list.
For more information, visit SammonsEnterprises.com.
SEI Media Contact: Jen Bare, JBare@sammonscorp.com.
Limitless BrainHealth and the New Dimensions Campaign for UT DallasContributions to the Limitless BrainHealth campaign simultaneously help UT Dallas get closer to the $750 million goal of the university’s comprehensive campaign, New Dimensions. This campaign, which is already one third of the way to reaching that goal, supports three broad objectives: to transform lives by attracting the best and brightest students through accessible, affordable and rigorous academic programs; to enhance lives and shape the future through transformative, integrated research; and to transform the arts on campus by becoming the hub of a new arts district for North Texas. As a dynamic, young university, this campaign ensures that UT Dallas is strategically poised for a future of promise and innovation.
About the Center for BrainHealthThe 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 brain potential. Translational innovations build on Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics (SMART™), a proprietary methodology developed and tested by BrainHealth researchers and other teams over three decades.