Seed Grants
The Dana Center's seed grant program funds research teams working on neuroscience questions with real community relevance. Explore our current and past projects below.
The application cycle for 2026-2027 is now open. Click here to learn more.
Current Awards
Complex Interplay of Environmental Factors on Critical Periods of Neurodevelopment
Our work aims to integrate basic biological studies (using zebrafish as a model) with community-based participatory and engaged research in South Los Angeles. Our ultimate goal is to advance and develop basic neuroscientific knowledge stemming directly from community members’ experiences, to be used for direct education and policy advocacy with, by, and for South Los Angeles community members and beyond.
PI: Valerie Tornini, PhD
Feathers & Feelings: Creating Cross-Generational Birding Sanctuaries at UCLA and CDU Communities
Feathers & Feelings (F&F) is building bird-friendly garden “sanctuaries” to foster emotional well-being and cross-generational connection.
PIs: Stephanie White, PhD | Sung-Jae Lee, PhD
Green Spaces and Grey Matter: The Effects of Nature and Noise on Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Memory Consolidation
By examining whether noise-limited natural contexts are more likely to promote brain processes conducive to wakeful consolidation than urban environments, this research aims to uncover the mechanisms linking environmental factors to memory while highlighting the potential benefits of equitable green spaces in our communities.
PI: Jesse Rissman, PhD
Past Awards
Racialized Impacts of Law Enforcement Helicopter Surveillance in Los Angeles
This project investigates how helicopter surveillance contributes to inequitable sleep disturbance across Los Angeles.
PI: Nick Shapiro, DPhil
Addressing gaps in brain health awareness and access among Black Angelenos: Development of the Black Brain Health Network
Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. However, Black communities have largely been excluded from research and clinical trial studies. This exclusion directly impacts our understanding of risk for this group and prohibits the necessary steps towards intervention. The goal of this proposal is to generate culturally tailored approaches to engage Black individuals in Los Angeles in brain health research, the first step in the development of the Black Brain Health Network.
PIs: Kacie Deters, PhD | Jennifer Adrissi, MD MS | Courtney Thomas Tobin, PhD
Investigating the Cognitive and Academic Consequences of Classroom Acoustics in South LA
The current study aims to examine how the acoustics of children’s built environments, such as their classrooms, impacts literacy and cognitive development.
PIs: Jennie Grammer, PhD | Julie Schneider, PhD
Impact of personal care products on neuronal function and health
This project examines the effects of chemicals found in personal care products—particularly those commonly used in African American communities—on brain function and health.
PIs: David Krantz, MD PhD | Felix Schweizer, PhD
Assessing the Impact of High ACE score on the neurobiology of maternal child attachment in marginalized women
This qualitative project centers Black birthing people’s lived experience and community knowledge to explore how structural violence, intergenerational trauma, and resilience shape caregiving, bonding, and attachment in an urban community.
PI: Nithya Ravindran, DO
Overview
The UCLA-CDU Dana Center provides annual seed grants in line with its mission to develop a method of community-partnered neuroscience. This seed grant program is made possible through The Dana Foundation, DGSOM, the UCLA College, Charles R. Drew School of Medicine, and the office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at UCLA.
The purpose of these awards is to develop the new research projects at the intersection of neuroscience and society, with a special emphasis on projects willing to explore the relationship between community knowledge and participation and neuroscience knowledge. This program has supported primary research proposals, but also education proposals, community advocacy proposals, science communication proposals, and humanities proposals.
Awardees often participate in felllowship seminars and mentorship opportunities, human centered design retreats, and an annual research fair.
Events/Activities
Human Centered Design Retreats
Research Fair
