Neuroscience and Society: Mapping Dana Foundation’s New Focus

What happens when an entrepreneur takes an interest in philanthropy? A multimillion-dollar grant funding institution is born. Established in 1950 in New York City by entrepreneur Charles Dana, the Dana Foundation started as a philanthropic institution that helped fund smaller independent colleges. Charles Dana looked for areas in society in which funding and grants would have the greatest impact, which, in addition to universities, included funding advancements in health. Charles Dana died in 1975; however, the Dana Foundation lived on, and its mission grew stronger. In the 1980’s the foundation shifted in focus to neuroscience, the study of the human brain. Over 40 years later, the mission of aiding neuroscience efforts has led to funding over 4 million dollars in grants in just 2022 alone.

The Dana Foundation’s current president and CEO, Dr. Caroline Montojo, “envisions a world where neuroscience reflects the aspirations of people from all walks of life and improves their life’s journey.” The Foundation’s primary effort is to bridge the gap between the public at large, including students, communities, and policymakers, and the scientific community of scholars, funders, and professionals. The Foundation maintains that collaboration and inclusivity are critical in ensuring that its mission, which it has named broadly neuroscience and society, is achieved.

How do they do this? In 2023, the Foundation finalized the objectives of its three grant programs: the Dana Frontiers, Dana NextGen, and Dana Education (see Figure 1).

Dana Frontiers supports neuroscientific collaboration with the diverse public including technology builders and users, policymakers, and clinicians following two objectives: (1) “develop engagement resources to cultivate trust and improve the quality of relationships between neuroscience practitioners, policymakers, and communities of people” and (2) “pilot innovative multidirectional engagement opportunities to embed community perspectives in research, policy, and decision-making.”

Since 2019, a total of 12 different grants have been awarded to researchers, journalists, institutions, and more through the Dana Frontiers Program. Previously funded initiatives under this program include a 2024 grant in support of the establishment of the Implantable Brain Computer Interface Collaborative Community (iBCI-CC) a diverse community of professionals researching and developing implantable BCI’s, a 2022 grant for a virtual event series hosted by Knowable Magazine titled “Inside the Brain: A Lifetime of Change” which explored human development from birth to death bringing together the general public and neurodevelopmental experts and policymakers, and a 2019 grant awarded to the National Academy of Sciences to support judges through education materials and workshops when considering scientific evidence in their trials.

On the other hand, Dana NextGen supports neuroscience students and early professionals following three objectives: (1) “integrate societal concerns into neuroscience training … through experiential learning and innovative curricula,” (2) “support workforce development in academic and non-academic career tracks” focused on neuroscience and society, and (3) “encourage rigorous, collaborative, and cross-disciplinary work between neuroscience and non-science disciplines.”

Through the Dana NextGen program, a total of 19 different grants have been awarded since 2019. Some of the grants include a 2023 grant to the Center of Bioethics at Harvard to create the Dana Foundation Career Network in Neuroscience and Society, a 2022 grant to BrainMind, a non-profit group working to increase neuroscientific research that benefits humanity, to host their first conference, the BrainMind Neuroethics Conference, and a 2023 grant to the Leadership Alliance at Brown University and Johns Hopkins University which provides professional development workshop to university undergraduates.

Lastly, the Dana Education program supports the formal and informal education of neuroscience to all people following three objectives: (1) to support the informal education “of neuroscience and its connection to society” 2) to “engage K-12 students in learning about neuroscience and its relevance to society” and (3) to “facilitate greater understanding and informed decision-making among professionals by supporting new education approaches.”

A total of 17 different grants have been awarded under the Education program since 2019 including a 2022 grant to the Franklin Institute to update their neuroscience and society high school curriculum providing interactive neuroscience-focused activities to high school students. The update allowed for the curriculum to move to an online format, making it easier for the Franklin Institute to disseminate its knowledge base to a wider variety of schools, students, and teachers, including those with fewer resources. Other grants awarded under the Education program include a 2023 grant to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in support of their neuroscience seminar series for judicial figures including judges, and a 2019 grant to PBS Television Station WETA in support of the production of their documentary, “Hiding in Plain Sight: Our Mental Health Crisis.”

The Dana Foundation has funded many diverse programs and projects through its three grant programs. However, the mission of strengthening the connections between neuroscience and society is not limited to the Dana Foundation. For example, the National Science Foundation has a grant program called Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) which funds both research and implementation projects of informal learning experiences in support of STEM education that include neuroscience. Considering Dana Foundation’s neuroscience and society funding programs and others like it, several questions are important to consider. For example, how are funders measuring the impact of grants in this space? How are funders working with grant recipients to ensure successful projects that were funded continue after the funding ends? Additionally, how are funders sharing the lessons learned from their grantees? For example, could all funders have a public database (like this one) with searchable final reports of their funded projects so that researchers, practitioners, and policymakers can use the lessons learned to advance other related work?

Ultimately, tracking grant funding will be an important element in mapping the allocation of resources supporting the ecosystem of projects at the intersection between neuroscience and society. We will keep tracking this progress as new developments emerge.

Access the Civic Science Funding Dashboard.

·

Bernadette Weigman

Reporter, Neuroscience & Society

Driven by a keen interest in human behavior, I strive to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and practical applications. I am eager to leverage my diverse background and contribute to a dynamic organization that values collaboration, people, and the pursuit of knowledge

• Bernadette Weigman

  https://civicsciencemedia.org/author/bernadette-weigman/

  Chasing your why: Emma Bleakman on founding Bright Light Neuro, a new way of thinking about neuroscience curriculum.
• Bernadette Weigman

  https://civicsciencemedia.org/author/bernadette-weigman/

  An ethics-based approach to fostering STEM Identity: A look into the Loyola University Chicago Dana Program for Neuroscience and Society
• Bernadette Weigman

  https://civicsciencemedia.org/author/bernadette-weigman/

  The critical need for community based research in neuroscience and how UCLA and Charles R. Drew University are addressing it through their new Dana Center