2024 Community Engagement Pilot Grants
First grants awarded!
The UVA Brain Institute offers a seed funding program to provide pilot funding to support the critical role that community partners play in promoting brain health awareness and research.
In July 2024, the Brain Institute funded its first community engagement pilot grants.
Awardees
Measuring the Psychophysiological Impact of Mindfulness on Emotion Regulation in Autistic Adults with Intellectual Disability
Rose Nevill, PhD - School of Education and Human Development
Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville, Community Partner
Adults with autism and mild-moderate intellectual disability are at higher risk of poor mental health, but there is a lack of evidence-based treatments. Low emotion regulation, or challenges controlling one’s emotions, is an underlying risk factor for mental health disorders in adults with autism. The goal of this project is to improve emotion regulation in adults with autism and mild-moderate intellectual disability. The team will to use a mindfulness-based intervention with community-based mindfulness instructors to collect psychophysiological data using Fitbits and assess emotion regulation change.
Brain Wellness Program
Ishan Williams, PhD - School of Nursing
Pilgrim Baptist Church, Community Partner
This community engagement program promotes brain health to ensure optimal brain functioning. This project will help address the information gap on maintaining a healthy brain in Black communities. Participants will be educated on the importance of a healthy lifestyle while being guided in physical activity by an expert for the eight-week sessions. The goal is to increase the awareness of brain health activities that can improve brain health overall and potentially influence the rate of cognitive decline among populations who see a higher burden of disease.
Enhancing Community Engaged Research using Community Advisory Boards
Carol Manning, PhD - School of Medicine, Ishan Williams, PhD - School of Nursing, Mel Cottrell - School of Nursing
Virginia Alzheimer’s Disease Center Community Advisory Board, Community Partner
Brain health is a critical issue affecting communities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, and many communities face brain health issues, have fewer resources, and are at risk of discrimination from healthcare providers. The goal of this project is to enhance community engagement in brain health initiatives across Virginia through regular Community Advisory Board meetings and community outreach.
This page will be updated as additional pilot grants are awarded.