The Brown Foundation

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The University of Mississippi Medical Center is well known to the Brown Foundation and was a returning competitor to our 2022 basic science program in Neuroscience. After a spirited competition that spanned multiple rounds of analysis and several interviews, the first place winner from the University of Mississippi in the Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation’s 2022 Neuroscience Program was the Sleep and Memory Dysfunction Laboratory of Dr. Barbara Gisabella. In December of 2022, the University of Mississippi received the first tranche of this multi-year award to further the hard work of Dr. Gisabella. Sleep and memory dysfunction are key features across many psychiatric disorders, strongly associated with worsening symptoms and impacting quality of life. For example, a majority of patients with schizophrenia display both decreased sleep spindles and memory consolidation deficits. In comparison, people suffering from post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have sleep disruption and nightmares, associated with heightened strength of fear memories. A growing number of studies support the theory that infrequently used dendritic spines are pruned during sleep, thus improving memories by enhancing the signal to noise ratio of frequently reinforced synaptic connections. Dr. Gisabella will utilize her laboratory’s award from the Brown Foundation to undertake two planned studies that will develop the foundation for further studies designed to identify how these processes are altered in PTSD, schizophrenia, mood disorders and aging, with the long term goal of leveraging this system for developing therapeutic treatments to target memory dysfunction. The Brown Foundation’s 2022 Neuroscience Program was specifically designed to help launch early career individuals with exciting new ideas to develop bedrock data to utilize for larger projects, we believe Dr. Gisabella’s and her innovative work will one day be well respected throughout the country and are honored to play this small role in helping her set up and grow her laboratory.

2022 marked the second time over the past five years that the University of Florida competed in one of the Brown Foundation’s fundamental research programs, and we were delighted to have UF back as one of our partners in the alleviation of suffering. After a competitive process including site visits, interviews, and other competitive processes, the laboratory of Karina Alviña, PhD received the first half of the first place award in December 2022. Dr. Alviña investigates how mechanisms underlying learning and memory are altered by environmental factors such as stress, dietary habits and exercise. She is also interested in uncovering how these mechanisms relate to age-associated cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. It was recently revealed that the exercise-derived myokine (i.e. protein derived from the skeletal muscle) called Irisin can act as neuroprotective endogenous agent. Irisin generally contributes to regulating metabolism and thermogenesis; however, Irisin is also released after exercise, which is known to have positive effects on cognitive function (i.e. learning and memory) and overall health. In addition, Dr. Alviña’s group discovered that Irisin can potently counteract the deleterious effects of stress on learning and memory. Specifically, when her laboratory injected Irisin in the hippocampus of mice and exposed the mice to stress, they observed that Irisin injection prevented the memory deficit induced by stress. Importantly, these results were observed in males only. Building on these findings, Dr. Alviña’s laboratory will utilize the Brown Foundation’s financial support to continue to investigate the effects of Irisin on hippocampal function as a stress resilience molecule, including both male and female mice. They will use a combination of electrophysiological measurements in brain slices and behavioral analysis of memory function. Furthermore, they will also use an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model to test Irisin and exercise paradigms as anti-neurodegeneration agents that could help preserve learning capabilities in older individuals.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became a four-year campus in 1966 and a fully autonomous university in the University of Alabama System in 1969. Prior to 2022, the Brown Foundation had never undertaken a research program in partnership with UAB. That said, while our program officers were developing the list of which world class institutions of higher learning would be competing in our 2022 Neuroscience Program, we quickly became of aware that the UAB Department of Neurobiology is making a national and international impact in fundamental neuroscience research so we of course invited them to submit numerous candidates for us to assess for this highly competitive program. In December of 2022, we announced the first place winner and recipient of $140,000 in aggregate grant support from us to be the laboratory of Kirstie A. Cummings, Ph.D. for her project titled: Neural Substrates of Fear Memory Expression and Suppression. How do we know to be afraid if we come face to face with a tiger, but not with a pet cat? Why is it so hard to get back in a car and drive shortly after being involved in a fender bender? Research in the Cummings laboratory seeks to identify the neural substrates of learning and memory, and uses fear as a model to investigate the circuits involved in the expression and suppression of memory. We are also interested in how this normal learning and memory circuitry might go awry in anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where fear memory is pathologically high and the ability to suppress it is greatly reduced. The Cummings lab uses a multidisciplinary combination of cutting-edge approaches in rodent models to define the exact cells and neural circuits responsible for fear memory encoding and suppression. Her lab’s aim is to advance humanity’s fundamental understanding of these learning and memory processes to pave the way towards a more comprehensive view of the dysfunction of these circuits in disorders of learning and memory like PTSD. Ultimately, Dr. Cummings’ goal is to use this new information to aid in the development of more effective therapeutics for PTSD and other types of learned anxiety disorders.

Joe W. Brown personally credited Dr. Jonas E. Salk with saving humanity with his polio vaccine. We at the Brown Foundation have been staunch supports of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies for decades and we are proud that the Salk has competed in our various fundamental research program for three out of the last four consecutive years. In December of 2022, the Brown Foundation was proud to announce that the first place winner out of our highly competitive 2022 Neuroscience Program from the Salk was the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory of Sreekanth Chalasani, PhD for its project – “Watching a brain learn and remember in real time”. Animals learn and remember relevant information, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Dr. Chalasani hypothesizes that conserved signaling pathways and neural circuit computations drive learning and memory across species. During the rigorous interview process undertaken by the Brown Foundation at the Salk, Dr. Chalasani said that “(w)e will discover these using the nematode C. elegans, which learn the size of a bacterial lawn and remember it for at least 60 minutes. We built a microscope that monitors both whole brain activity and behavior in freely-moving animals. We will first identify what this animal learns from exploring precise bacteria patches; then monitor its whole brain activity changes during learning and recall; and finally probe the underlying molecular changes.” The Brown Foundation is enthusiastic to assist this up and coming researcher at the Salk and we are enthusiastic to watch the matriculation of his career.
In December of 2022, the Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation’s Shelter and Food Security Program awards were issued to approved applicants. The 30 organizations participating in the program in 2022 will receive an aggregate total of $715,000.00 in grant support for their respective efforts to address homelessness, offer support and rehabilitative services to individuals suffering a translational homeless crisis, and provide widespread access to food in the parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, Lafourche, St. John, Acadia, Calcasieu, Lafayette, St. Landry and St. Charles. The Shelter and Food Security Program will return in 2023 for its third full season with the Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation. The application window is currently open and closes on August 31, 2023, though Letters of Interest to determine whether an organization will be invited to participate are due to us by March 31, 2023. Organizations, other than food pantries, may qualify for support from this program for two consecutive years. Food pantries may qualify for support for one year from this program.

The Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation Service Learning Event was back-on in 2022, after a two year COVID-19 caused hiatus! On September 13, 2022, the Brown Foundation hosted both public and private schools, non profit agencies and SE Louisiana community leaders to kick-off the 2022-2023 Service Learning Program. The celebration was held at the Lake Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, Louisiana, a location that has hosted this event for the Foundation for nearly two decades. Non-profit agency exhibitors met with students, teachers, and other educators. During the opening ceremony, we introduced many of our traditional philanthropic partners in Service Learning to collaborators at the STEM Library Lab and it’s employee Maria Landrum who will be administering service learning in association with the Foundation moving forward.
The Foundation is proud to announce that the laboratory of Dr. Georgios Kogias – of Louisiana State University - is one of our first place winners out of our 2022 Neuroscience Program. Dr. Georgios Kogias received his PhD in 2019 and is currently a third-year postdoctoral fellow. He has been working on the molecular mechanism of learning and memory formation. We at the Foundation recognize that a deficit in memory consolidation, a process that transforms short-term to long-term memory, can lead to memory impairment. This can occur in aging, in many neurological disorders, or following a traumatic event such as in PTSD. Once formed, memory can be modified. Following reactivation of the learned memory, the original memory becomes transiently labile and undergoes re-stabilization. This provides a window of opportunity that can strengthen or weaken the memory. Dr. Kogias aims to identify pharmacological targets that selectively enhance or disrupt these memory formation and modification processes and the Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation is pleased to say that we issued the first half of Dr. Kogias’ first place prize of $125,000 in December of 2022. The LSU pilot study has already shown that a transcriptional factor, PPARα, increased the activity of an endocannabinoid degrading enzyme, MAGL, and thereby reduced endocannabinoid signaling. Importantly administration of a PPARα antagonist disrupted both original and reconsolidated memories. The goals for this continuation of this program study that the Foundation’s grant award shall support are 1) to determine whether administration of a PPARα agonist reduces endocannabinoid signaling and enhances memory, and 2) to identify endogenous agonists of PPARα that are elevated by learning and memory reactivation. Successful completion of these experiments will lay the foundation for future studies of the mechanisms that control PPARα activation during learning and memory. The advantage of a reconsolidation intervention is that it involves just a single administration of a memory-modulating drug during a specific time window to enhance or reduce the memory. The study will allow LSU to expand models of fear memory formation to include the cerebellum beyond a traditional amygdala- and hippocampal-focused investigation. This study may reveal novel treatment strategies for PTSD and new therapeutic targets to treat memory impairment.

This is the third time that Duke University has participated in the Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation’s competitive annual fundamental research program. Fundamental research submissions from Duke University always excel in every way and determining a first place winner from among their elite research laboratories is a significant undertaking. In December of 2022, the Brown Foundation was proud to announce that our first place winner from Duke University is the laboratory of Fernando Cruz Alsina, PhD – Senior Postdoctoral Researcher – Silver Lab/Duke Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. Dr. Alsina arrived at Duke University after receiving his PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina. The goals of the research that the Brown Foundation is supporting with an aggregate total of $140,000 in grant monies focuses on the role of RNA binding proteins and RNA regulation during brain development, and a central RNA regulator, the Exon Junction Complex (EJC). Dr. Alsina has thus far already discovered that the nucleating component of this complex, EIF4A3, is required for axonal tract formation while the other canonical binding partners, unexpectedly, are not. He further has excited found that EIF4A3 non-canonically promotes axonal growth by EJC-independent regulation of microtubule dynamics in neuronal projections and further determined that EIF4A3 is a novel microtubule binding protein, necessary and sufficient to promote microtubule polymerization. An emerging topic from his research is the concept of dual RNA and microtubule regulation which has been barely investigated. Further, its significance in neuronal connectivity and plasticity is yet to be determined, despite abundant expression of both RNA-binding proteins and Microtubule-associated proteins in neurons. Dr. Alsina’s research proposal for the Brown Foundation combines his areas of expertise to address this important topic with implications for understanding neuronal plasticity and human disease, creating opportunities to further extend the investigation of these topics in human models in the future. The support of the Brown Foundation will ideally be a steppingstone to generate solid data (which we at the Brown Foundation call “bedrock data”) for future grant applications and job applications, and it will pave the way for establishing the independent research program of Dr. Alsina’s laboratory.
Our 2022 Emmy Noether Awards Ceremony was held in Orleans Parish on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at the Louisiana Cancer Research Center. This year, we were especially pleased to announce that in July of 2022 we sent our first round of fellowship checks out to our three initial Emmy Noether Awards Program gold medalists from 2017, 2018, and 2019! Pictured above from the 2019 ENA Event, from left to right. Congratulations to our 2017 gold medalist Hailey Rowbatham who received her first award check of $12,500 as she launches her graduate school career at University of California, Berkley for a masters in Environmental Engineering. Congratulations to our 2018 gold medalist Grayce Mores who received her first award check of $12,500 as she launches her graduate school career at Northwestern University Driskill Graduate Training Program in Life Sciences. Grayce is committed to a Ph.D. in Microbiology. Congratulations to our 2019 gold medalist Amaris Lewis who received her first award check of $12,500 as she launches her graduate school career at Stanford University masters degree program for Biology. Watching these young women matriculate through undergraduate school in furtherance of their respective dreams and getting to play this small part as they continue their education has been an incredible honor for the Brown Foundation.

2022 Emmy Noether Awards – Gold Medalist, Ashini Modi is a recent graduate of Caddo Parish Magnet High School in Shreveport, Louisiana with plans to attend Harvard University to study Physics or Astrophysics. She is a passionate researcher and amateur astronomer who has completed projects on topics ranging from Gravitational Waves to exoplanet atmospheres. She competed at the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair where she placed third in Physics and Astronomy. She most recently took home first place in physical sciences at the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and co-authored a publication on the Two-Dimensional Correlation Function of Binary Black Hole Coalescences. As a firm believer that education is a right and not a privilege, she is dedicated to reading books and STEM mentorship to unhoused and underrepresented students in her community through charitable organizations Reading Rainforests and Students to Scientists. When not conducting research or volunteering, Ashini enjoys playing the violin, advocating for environmental sustainability, hiking, and baking vegan goodies with her sister.
2022 Emmy Noether Awards – Silver Medalist, Yewon Lee graduated as valedictorian of James Clemens High School in Madison, Alabama. Interested in chemistry and its myriad of applications to human health, Yewon worked on a metabolomics study to model nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, establishing metabolic signatures of type I diabetes. She has received awards at the International Science & Engineering Fair and is an alumna of the Research Science Institute. In her community, Yewon is an advocate for mental health and pediatric cancer awareness and mentors students each summer, developing a curriculum in mathematical problem-solving. Outside of research, Yewon enjoys writing about current events, dabbling in nature photography, and mountain biking. Yewon will be attending Harvard University and majoring in Chemistry. The Emmy Noether Awards seek top aspiring female research scientists in any STEM (science, technology, engineering, or math) field to help realize their potential careers through financial and networking assistance. These two silver medalists will be awarded $25,000 each for a qualified graduate level program. As Emmy Noether Scholars, they will join a network of young female aspiring research scientists and will be offered information on internship and networking opportunities.

2022 Emmy Noether Awards – Silver Medalist, Catherine Kung. At Indian Springs School, where LEARNING THROUGH LIVING is the motto, Catherine has indulged her love of math and science in numerous electives and activities and has had the opportunity to explore her passion of studying the intersection of biology and technology. She is inspired by the innovation of technology to address human needs and health problems. Throughout high school, she was devoted to research on developing a bio inspired artificial skin to ultimately engineer a method of mimicking the brains sensory interpretation, and she received the best student paper award at an international SPIE conference for this work. More recently, at the University of Alabama, she worked on the recognition of American Sign Language using radar and machine learning. As a longtime volunteer at the Alabama Wildlife Center, she also advocates the protection of animals and the reduction of unnecessary use of animals in scientific experiments. At school, she is the chair of the Science Olympiad team, Math Club, and Psychology Club. Beyond Catherines scientific commitments and explorations, she has played violin for eleven years and has been actively involved in orchestra, chamber, and the music program at Indian Springs. Currently, she plans to attend MIT and pursue her interests in biological engineering and cognitive sciences.
The Foundation is honored to have the University of Alabama at Birmingham competing in our 2022 Neuroscience Program. In May of 2022, the Foundation issued $45,000 via three lead in awards for this program to UAB to further the work of the principal investitors while they are competing in our program for the grand prize of an $125,000 that will be issued to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in December of 2022. The competing principal investigators and their respective programs are: (1) Dr. Summer Thyme - Studies will define the location and abnormal function of brain cells participating in learning and memory activities, and will also set the stage for developing drugs to modulate these mechanisms. (2) Dr. Krisite A. Cummings - To identify the neural substrates of learning and memory, and uses fear as a model to investigate the circuits involved in expression and suppression of memory. (3) Constanza Cortes Rodriguez - To develop exercise-mimicking therapeutic compounds to promote similar brain benefits in human populations that are at risk for the development memory decline.

The Foundation is honored to have LSU Health New Orleans competing in our 2022 Neuroscience Program. In May of 2022, the Foundation issued $45,000 via three lead in awards for this program to LSU to further the work of the principal investitors while they are competing in our program for the grand prize of an $125,000 that will be issued to LSU in December of 2022. The competing principal investigators and their respective programs are: (1) Xiaolin Tian, Ph.D. - Focus on the mechanisms that couple the cellular properties and the neuronal functions of dopaminergic neurons and how targeting may help treat conditions that affect learning and memory as well as other key brain functions that require dopaminergic inputs. (2) Xiao Ching Li, Ph.D. - Experiments will bring novel insights into vocal learning and development on the genetic, circuit and behavioral levels, enhancing our understanding of human language development and related disorders. (3) Georgios Kogias, Ph.D. - To identify pharmacological targets that selectively enhance or disrupt memory formation and modification processes.
The Foundation is honored to have Duke University Medical Center competing in our 2022 Neuroscience Program. In May of 2022, the Foundation issued $45,000 via three lead in awards for this program to Duke to further the work of the principal investitors while they are competing in our program for the grand prize of an $125,000 that will be issued to Duke in December of 2022. The competing principal investigators and their respective programs are: (1) Khadar Abdi, Ph.D. - To further explore mechanistic links between CNS BCAA metabolism and learning memory. (2) Fernando Cruz Alsina, Ph.D. - To focus on the RNA-binding Exon Junction Complex. The EJC widely associates with the transcriptome and acts as an indispensable guardian of mRNA fate throughout it life cycle. (3) Francesco Poalo Ulloa Severino, Ph.D. - To determine the astrocytic changes in gene expression and translational levels upon learning-dependent structural changes.

The Foundation is honored to also have the University of Mississippi Medical Center competing in our 2022 Neuroscience Program. In May of 2022, the Foundation issued $45,000 via three lead in awards for this program to UMCC to further the work of the principal investitors while they are competing in our program for the grand prize of an $125,000 that will be issued to the University of Mississippi in December of 2022. The competing principal investigators and their respective programs are: Dr. Daniela Rueedi-Bettschen - To identify factors impacting METH-induced learning and memory impairments and further the knowledge of a possible molecular origin of the impairment. Dr. Shashank Shekhar - To advance science as the critical and rigorous prelude to the subsequent step of testing mechanism underlying memory and cognitive impairment. Dr. Barbara Gisabella - To develop the foundation for further studies designed to identify how sleep and memory dysfunction processes are altered in PTSD, schizophrenia, mood disorders and aging, with the long term goal of levering this system for developing treatments for memory dysfunction.
In August of 2022, the Brown Foundation’s Education Department will proudly award 14 recipients a total of $213,454 in SupportSTEM program awards. This program serves STEM curriculum implementation or STEM instruction support for K-12 schools. At five years since inception, our SupportSTEM Program has issued an aggregate total of $1,188,535 to 89 K-12 schools, non-profit groups, universities and technical colleges. All budgetary items must directly impact STEM education in K-12 schools. Budgetary examples include but are not limited to: paid professional development, curriculum models, STEM kits, STEM conferences, transportation, consumable materials, equipment, and on-going STEM programs that enrich curriculum.The Foundation is pleased to announce that we have enthusiastically renewed this program again for 2023. Please visit the Education Department section of this website for more information and be prepared to turn your applications in on or before March 15, 2023.

2022 marks a third successful year for our Summer Camp Program. This program had been one of the tougher programs the Brown Foundation has ever launched due to the disruptions caused by COVID-19 that have impacted the program every year. The program’s intent remains to (a) serve children unable to attend most other camps due to special medical needs, or (b) serve those camps focused on promoting STEM and advanced learning. Thirteen camps were awarded an aggregate total of $110,000 in 2022, bringing our total Summer Camp awards to $332,500 for 43 camps since the program began in 2020. Please visit the Education section of our website for more information on applying. We are pleased to announce that the Summer Camp program has been renewed for 2023. The application packet for 2023 will be posted to the Education section of our website by December 1, 2022 and the deadline to apply for support in 2023 will be January 31, 2023.
The Foundation is honored to also have the University of Florida College of Medicine competing in our 2022 Neuroscience Program. In May of 2022, the Foundation issued $45,000 via three lead in awards for this program to UF to further the work of the principal investitors while they are competing in our program for the grand prize of an $125,000 that will be issued to the University of Florida in December of 2022. The competing principal investigators and their respective programs are: (1) Karina Alvina, Ph.D - To investigate how mechanisms underlying learning and memory are altered by environmental factors such as stress, dietary habits and exercise. (2) Mark Moehle, Ph.D - To understand the cellular, molecular and circuitry changes that underlie systems of neurological disorders. (3) Nancy Padilla-Coreano, Ph.D - Uncovering the neural mechanisms of social memory and furthermore, using machine and circuit-specific manipulations, they will identify neural dynamics underlying social memory.

The Foundation is honored to also have the Salk Institute for Biological Studies competing in our 2022 Neuroscience Program. In May of 2022, the Foundation issued $45,000 via three lead in awards for this program to Salk to further the work of the principal investitors while they are competing in our program for the grand prize of an $125,000 that will be issued to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in December of 2022. The competing principal investigators and their respective programs are: (1) Nicola Allen, Ph.D. - Investigate if changes in astrocytes is responsible for inhibiting synaptic plasticity in adulthood, by asking if blocking or reversing these changes is sufficient to enhance plasticity and learning in the adult brain. (2) Eiman Azim, Ph.D. - To leverage state-of-the-art molecular-genetic, behavioral, electrophysiological and computational principles of how to motor system learns. (3) Sreekanth Chalasani, Ph. D. - Discover using the nematode C. Elegans, will build a microscope that monitors both whole brain activity changes during learning and recall; and finally probe the underlying molecular changes.
Georgios Karras, PhD - Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics, Division of Basic Sciences - Project: Anti-Aging – HSP-90 Project - It has long been proposed that the severity of age-related diseases is modified by chronic environmental exposures by exerting stress to the molecular machines operating within our cells, yet very few such exposures have been identified. To address this issue, we focused on a major sensor of environmental change, the protein-folding chaperone heat shock protein 90 (90). Previous research from my lab established that Hsp90 can “buffer” (that is – mitigate) the biological effects of mutations linked to diverse Mendelian diseases, including the age-related disease Fanconi Anemia, and in doing so can couple disease to seemingly benign environmental cues, such as fever. Employing new functional assays and cutting-edge high-throughput methodologies we are identifying chemicals that are able to reverse or delay the age-induced impairment of Hsp90 function.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is one of the top medical research institutions in the world, and we at the Brown Foundation were deeply honored to have this organization competing in our 2021 Healthy Ageing Program. There are approximately 1,700 elite medical residents and Fellows that are in training at MSK and an additional 575 postdoctoral researchers training at MSK labs and a combined 288 PhD and MD-PhD candidates. We at the Brown Foundation knew the competition from MSK was going to be impressive and we are so pleased to announce that After a competitive competition, the winning laboratory that received their $100,000 grant in December of 2021 was Molecular Pharmacology Program under the supervision of Merav Antman-Passig, PhD. Merav is working on a novel way of detecting Alzheimer’s biomarkers in vivo with near-infrared optical nanosensors. A major barrier in the development of successful preventative treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the lack of diagnostic measures that can detect AD at early stages and longitudinally monitor disease progression. Accumulation of self-assembled amyloid-beta protein is a central and early event in the development of AD, however, detecting AD at early stages remains an ongoing challenge with current techniques. Merav is therefore developing an optical nanosensor that detects amyloid-beta biomarkers in-vivo for early detection, and long-term assessment of AD progression.
The Foundation is deeply honored to announce the winner of our inaugural Calm After the Storm Excellence Award issued on November 30, 2021 was Kim Boudreaux, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana. Catholic Charities of Acadiana is now the official disaster response agency for the Diocese of Lafayette. Care for the sacred gift of all human life, especially the most vulnerable. These values define this organizations culture and guide their hard work. By embodying these virtues Catholic Charities continues to be aligned with Catholic Social Justice Teachings and capture the unique spirit in which they operate. As Executive Director, Ms. Boudreaux heads up the Acadiana Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster - AVOAD - and fosters efficient, streamlined service delivery to people affected by disaster, while eliminating unnecessary duplication of effort through cooperation, communication, coordination and collaboration in the four phases of disaster - preparation, response, recovery, and mitigation. Pictured is Ms. Boudreaux being presented with the award by Brown Foundation representative Becky Hunter and her husband, Lake Charles mayor, Nic Hunter.

Aging is the biggest risk factor for most human diseases. Individuals age at different rates, and even specific cells and tissues within a person age differently. This depends on intrinsic properties, including genetics and where cells are in the body, and extrinsic factors, like exposure to environmental toxins and pathogens. The Brown Foundation of course worked with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in our 2021 Healthy Ageing Program, and the Molecular and Cell Biology Lab of Martin W. Hetzer, PhD received our top prize of $100,000 in December of 2021. Dr. Hetzer is trying to understand the role of the vascular system in healthy aging. Cerebrovascular pathologies (e.g., microinfarcts, hemorrhage, atherosclerosis) have been associated with cognitive impairment and dementia during normal and pathological aging. The Salk has recently found that vascular endothelial cells (VECs) that form blood vessels of the brain, referred to as blood brain barrier (BBB), are extremely long-lived. Dr. Hetzer’s approach will recapitulate key features of human vascular degeneration during physiological aging and AD, and will identify novel biomarkers that can be exploited to develop future therapeutics modulating the vascular function.
Scripps Research advances scientific understanding, educates the scientists of tomorrow and impacts human health across the globe. Scripps research is science changing life and we at the Brown Foundation were so pleased this prestigious organization that competed in our 2019 Oncology Program was again competing in one of our basic science programs – this time our 2021 Healthy Ageing Program. After a competitive selection process and numerous interviews, the Foundation selected Mia Huang, PhD - Assistant Professor, Molecular Medicine – as our first place winner and principal investigator overseeing how the $100,000 grant award we issued to Scripps Research in December 2021 would impact the world. For every individual during the natural progression of ageing, cells of the musculoskeletal system deteriorate, manifesting as pain or loss of mobility. Muscle satellite stem cells reside in mature muscle and have the capacity to repair decaying muscle tissue; however, they normally remain quiescent and are not activated during the ageing process. Understanding the molecular regulators that govern quiescence and activation could lead to strategies to mobilize these muscle stem cells during ageing. However, many of these molecular regulators remain obscure, hindering the potential of muscle stem cells for regenerative medicine. The Huang Lab seeks to decode the molecular messages used by muscle satellite stem cells that influence quiescence and activation. Armed with the latest technological advances to characterize glycans and study their function, Dr. Huang aims to determine the language of glycans in muscle stem cells, thereby unlocking the potential for therapeutic intervention. The translation of these basic research discoveries in muscle cell biology could help preserve lean muscle mass, strength and mobility with age, ultimately transforming the quality of later life whilst also taking the burden of elderly care off families and medical providers.

With a focus on personalized medicine, National Jewish Health (NJH) researchers are looking at environment-gene interaction and making strides in predicting, preventing, treating and tracking many diseases. Known for translating the lessons of basic science and applying them to human diseases, NJH attracts world-class researchers who conduct leading-edge scientific investigations. 2021 marked the first year NJH competing in one of the Brown Foundation’s basic science programs and we were so pleased to issue a first place award of $100,000 in December of 2021 under the supervision of Russell Bowler, MD, PhD as principal investigator for his project: The Influence of Aging and Environment on Changes in the Human Metabolome. During the competition we learned that the human metabolome consists of thousands of small molecules .. amino acids, carbohydrates, hormones, lipids, etc .. that reflect the overall health of the individual. While it has previously been shown that age has important effects on the metabolome, there are no longterm studies of exactly how an individuals metabolome changes with age, particularly in older individuals who are healthy from a clinical perspective and who have had CT scans and lung function studies. Therefore, while human lung function dramatically declines with aging, little is known about whether and how the metabolome can be used to assess aging-related diseases, including rapid aging-associated loss of lung function. The study Brown Foundation is funding will examine changes in the metabolome in each of 7,000 healthy individuals, who range in age from 55 to 90. Some are smokers and some have never smoked, and all have been phenotyped for key aging-related diseases, such as COPD, osteoporosis and coronary disease.
LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge puts science to work for a healthier Louisiana, so they were a natural organization for us to invite to compete in the Brown Foundation’s 2021 Healthy Aging Program. A world research leader right here in Louisiana, the Pennington’s mission is to discover the triggers of chronic diseases through innovative research that improves human health across the lifespan. Congratulations to Candida Rebello, PhD, RD for her selection as the first place winner out of Pennington following the competition. We are certain the $100,000 under her direction as principal investigator shall be well utilized. The first aim of Dr. Rebello’s work is to identify in hASC, the peak time of PPARγ protein expression, whether PPARγ is phosphorylated at serine 273, and the components of the PPARγ regulatory complex, following NRBC treatment. The second aim is to elucidate the mechanisms by which NRBC acts in the brain to regulate food intake and body weight in mice using electrophysiologic approaches. Advances in our understanding of the transformation of adipocytes from fat storage to fat burning cells that modulate whole-body insulin sensitivity are limited by the absence of safe mediators of these effects in humans. This research will facilitate an understanding of the brain and peripheral mechanisms that safely activate an anti-obesity and anti-diabetes program to promote healthy aging.

Vanderbilt prides itself on being a preeminent global research university whose faculty are recognized for path-breaking research and innovative leadership in higher education, the Brown Foundation was honored to have such an institution competing in our 2021 Healthy Aging Program. Congratulations to James Dewar, PhD and his entire team for winning the Foundation’s first place award in healthy aging for the contest at Vanderbilt University. In September of 2021, the Brown Foundation issued a $100,000 first place research award to Vanderbilt with James Dewar, PhD as the principal investigator to apply toward the development of a biochemical system to study cellular aging. Telomeres are molecular structures that ordinarily protect chromosome ends but this activity is compromised by repeated cell divisions, resulting in cellular aging. We are currently limited in our ability to study telomere defects or target telomeres with therapeutics because cellular approaches to study this process are laborious and time consuming. To address this limitation, Dr. Dewar will develop a revolutionary biochemical system that will allow for rapid and detailed interrogation of telomeres and support high-throughput screens for small molecules that can modulate telomere function.
K-12 education programs across the country have continued to be impacted by COVID-19 throughout 2021. Summer camps, in particular, have struggled to hold in person events and though the Brown Foundation issued $117,500 in grant awards out of our 2021 Summer Camp Program, several of our partner organizations have had to request roll over funding into 2022 due to the delta variant shuddering their plans for in person camps in to the summer of 2022. That said, we are pleased to announce our Summer Camp Program has been renewed for 2022 and we are optimistic that 2022 will not see the disruption we experienced in this program in both 2020 and 2021. Interested and qualified K-12 summer camp programs with more than four years of operational history should have their applications turned in to the Foundation by Monday, January 31, 2022, please visit our education department page.

Our oldest and most prestigious program at the Brown Foundation is our Service Learning program. Traditionally, our in person service learning celebration held at the Pontchatrain Center in Kenner hosts upwards of 1,400 eager teachers and students looking to partner with the more than 50 local charities staffing the event tables. Though COVID-19 has sadly resulted in us canceling our in person celebration in both 2020 and 2021, our program has continued to aid teachers and schools located in and around Jefferson Parish that wish to incorporate service learning with an outside service partner into their curriculum. Through October of 2021 we have issued an aggregate of $243,480 in awards to forty-two (42) different schools for the 21/22 school year. We are enthusiastically accepting applications now for the 2022/23 school year, please visit our education department page.
For more than two decades the Brown Foundation has proudly supported various research programs at MD Anderson Cancer Center. While conducting numerous interviews of prospective principal investigators for our 2021 Healthy Aging Program at MD Anderson, the Foundation learned of the potentially revolutionary work of New Orleans native Joya Chandra, PhD in the Department of Pediatrics at MD Anderson. In September of 2021, the Foundation issued a $100,000 grant out of our Oncology Program to MD Anderson in support of Dr. Chandra’s efforts in designing interventions to promote healthy cardiometabolic aging in pediatric cancer survivors. Dr. Chandra proposes to use a transgenic mouse model which can track and eliminate senescent cells to pinpoint a role for anthracycline induced senescence as a contributor to cardiac damage, and to test timing and efficacy of energy balance interventions. Data generated from this study will inform clinical trials for pediatric cancer patients which we hope will prevent premature cardiometabolic aging.

In September of 2021, the Brown Foundation issued an aggregate total of $272,424 in grants to 21 different organizations out of our SupportSTEM program. Since we launched this forward looking program in 2018, we have issued $983,943 in total awards out of our SupportSTEM program for STEM curriculum implementation or STEM instruction support for K-12 schools. In 2021, awards under this program ranged from as little as $4,253 to the University of Louisiana Lafayette for their “GEAUX PALEOS: Providing Access to Linked Educational Opportunities in Science” program to our maximum award amount of $20,000 that was issued to organizations such as Archbishop Chapelle High School in the Brown Foundation’s home town of Metairie for their Project Lead the Way Engineering program. The Foundation is pleased to announce that we have renewed this program again for 2022 and we are enthusiastically accepting applications for same. Please visit our education department section of this website for more information.
On August 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a deadly and destructive Category 4 hurricane causing catastrophic wind damage and flooding, resulting in an estimated $50 billion of damages as it tour a path from Louisiana to New England. Despite the Brown Foundation’s physical campus being without power and completely inaccessible for more than a week, our Emergency Response Program was issuing recovery awards just three days after landfall. The first award was issued to Rebuilding Together New Orleans (RTNO) in the amount of $100,000. The southeast Louisiana community is resilient but we know that a disaster can’t end until everyone is home safely. This $100,000 emergency grant award will help RTNO repair homes, revitalize communities, and rebuild lives. The affiliation that RTNO has with Rebuilding Together gives RTNO the immediate access to a national network of affiliates across the country, without the corresponding overhead costs. For this reason, every $1 donated to RTNO converts into more than $4 in assistance, giving our $100,000 grant award the impact of over $400,000 to southeast Louisiana. If you are able to volunteer your time or skills please email info@rtno.org or call RTNO at (504)920-5722 to help SE Louisiana get back on its feet.

On September 3, 2021, the Brown Foundation issued its second award out of our Emergency Response Program to aid in the recovery from Hurricane Ida in southeast Louisiana. This second award was in the amount of $100,000 and issued to the St. Bernard Project (SBP). The Foundation and SBP have a long history together as the Foundation partnered with SBP when the organization first formed following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Since our initial award to SBP, SBP has grown and spread to many locations in Louisiana and beyond and we couldn’t be prouder of this organization. Since our first award to SBP fifteen years ago SBP has directly rebuilt homes for more than 2,140 families with the help of more than 130,000 volunteers in New Orleans, LA; Joplin, MO; Staten Island, NY; Rockaway, NY; Monmouth/Ocean Counties, NJ; San Marcos, TX; Columbia, SC; Baton Rouge, LA; Houston, TX; Brazoria County, TX; Puerto Rico; the Florida Panhandle; and the Bahamas. With its construction system enhanced and optimized through an ongoing partnership with an automobile manufacturer - which helped implement lean manufacturing processes - SBP rebuilds homes far below market rate, and carries out construction projects with much lower subsidies than traditional affordable housing models.
On July 30, 2021, the Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation issued its second annual Environmental Impact Award to Arthur Johnson, the chief executive officer of the Lower 9th Ward CSED. The Brown Foundation’s Environmental Impact Award recognizes organizations and individuals who have not only made an impact on the valuable environment of Louisiana but have also educated youth in the region about this topic. The inaugural award was presented to Pontchartrain Conservancy Executive Director Kristi Trail in 2020. Founded in 2006, the Lower 9th Ward CSED focuses on coastal rehabilitation, greening the built environment and increasing food security by lifting up and strategically reinforcing community-driven goals to create an economically, culturally and environmentally sustainable Lower 9th Ward. The organization’s work includes, but is not limited to, aiding homeowners with energy-saving improvements, providing access to low-cost materials, helping residents clean, restore and paint their houses, reducing blight in the neighborhood, building rain gardens to manage storm water runoff and providing information on creating a safe, independent and more resilient community for the future. The Foundation is deeply honored to issue a grant in the amount of $15,000 to the Lower 9th Ward CSED as part of the Environmental Impact Award.

The Joe W. & Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation has sponsored programs with St. Michael’s Special School almost every year from 1999 through 2021, with our most recent grant being issued in April 2021. Support for St. Michael’s Special School from the Brown Foundation has totaled $228,500 to date. Since 1965, St. Michael Special School has educated students aged six through adulthood with intellectual and developmental disabilities (i.e. those with mild to moderate disabilities, including autism, ADHD, developmental delay, traumatic brain injury, multiple disabilities, and other health impaired). The curriculum includes religion, reading, language arts, math, science, social studies, computer, creative arts, culinary science, vocational training, independent living, community integration, industrial arts, and music. The school is unique in that it provides for the development of the whole child—academically, physically, emotionally, and spiritually—regardless of his or her disability. Purposeful academics are geared to individual needs in an environment where every child participates in a variety of meaningful activities. Interpersonal skills and social responsibility are consistently reinforced. Extracurricular activities include speech therapy, music therapy, adaptive physical education, club participation based on interest, student council, sports, cheerleading, and various inclusive activities with respective peer groups.
Our 2021 Emmy Noether Awards Ceremony was held in Orleans Parish on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at the Louisiana Cancer Research Center. Pictured above are the 2021 Emmy Noether Award medalists at the 2021 event. (Paige Delsa, May Jung and Diya Desai) The Emmy Noether Awards is a highly competitive, merit based program designed to encourage female high school students in math and research science fields. This program will identify and determine up to 10 Emmy Noether Scholars, one beging a gold medalist and two silver medalists. The gold medalist will be awarded up to $75,000 ($25,000 for each year they are in a graduate level program up to 3 years). The two silver medalists will be awarded $25,000 each for a qualified graduate level program. The Emmy Noether Scholars will join an ever growing network of young female aspiring research scientists (now 45 strong since we organized this program in 2016) and will be offered information on internship and networking opportunities. In 2020 we expanded the geographic outreach of this award to include students in Alabama, so the program currently services top performing students in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Congratulations to all of our 2021 winners!

2021 Emmy Noether Awards - Gold Medalist, May Jung: As a student at the Alabama School of Math and Science, May Jung had the opportunity to indulge in a plethora of niche math and biology electives, nurturing her interest in the field of environmental engineering. Specifically, her passion is studying the interconnections between environmental issues, epidemiology and helping provide solutions through engineering sustainable infrastructure, in hopes to remediate the preeminent environmental and public health challenges that all communities alike are facing. May spent most of her high school years knee deep in cardboard boxes and plastic bottles for the Alabama School of Math and Sciences weekly recycling drive that she coordinated, planning the Eco Webinar series with the Alabama Environmental Youth Council, writing lab reports and collecting data for her engineering research projects. Aside from Mays commitment to environmental activities, she also has a big passion for performing, which she actively tries to pursue through singing for a rock band. She also choreographs halftime dances for the cheer team.
2021 Emmy Noether Awards - Silver Medalist, Diya Desai: Diya is a graduate of Caddo Parish Magnet High School, a member of the Vanderbilt Class of 2025 where she is planning to major in Medicine, Health, and Society. She has worked on water treatment research, specifically looking at sustainable solutions to the global water crisis, and she has competed in and won science fairs up to the international level. She is the founder of Science Sidekicks, a science mentorship program dedicated to spreading the love of science to youth in the community. Diya enjoys being outdoors, hanging out with friends, and trying new restaurants.

2021 Emmy Noether Awards - Silver Medalist, Paige Delsa: Paige Delsa is a graduate of the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, a public, residential high school in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and will be attending the University of Richmond in the fall to pursue physics. She left her hometown of Mandeville, Louisiana as a sophomore to explore her passion for physics, chemistry, and computer science at the Louisiana School of Math, Science and the Arts. Being surrounded by enthusiastic teachers and dedicated students, she further cultivated her passion for science and mathematics and was inspired to pursue a myriad of research opportunities, ranging from working with an oceanography department to a materials informatics lab. While not completing research, studying for her classes, or talking with her friends, Delsa is an avid powerlifter.
The Brown Foundation issued an award of $20,000 to Jefferson Dollars for Scholars on June 4, 2021. Support for Jefferson Dollars for Scholars has totaled $427,800 since our first award was issued in 1995. Jefferson Dollars for Scholars is a chapter of Scholarship America, the largest privately funded scholarship organization in the world. There are nearly 1,000 chapters nation-wide. Like all other chapters, Jefferson Dollars for Scholars is a local, grassroots organization that gets ALL of its funding from grants, private businesses and corporates, as well as parents, friends and supporters of their cause, such as the Brown Foundation. Jefferson Dollars for Scholars is a charitable group serving schools throughout Jefferson Parish and is not a part of the school system or government entity. The mission of Jefferson Dollars for Scholars is to expand access to educational opportunities for Jefferson Parish students through scholarships and academic support. Founded in 1993, Jefferson Dollars for Scholars has awarded more than $20 million in scholarships to over 5,000 students.

Support for the Atchafalaya Terrebonne Basin is and always has been of crucial importance to the Brown Foundation. The Brown Foundation has proudly awarded grants totaling $365,500 to the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper since our partnership began in 2010. Support has always aimed to protect the Basin, its wildlife, fisheries for commercial and recreational fishing, thousands of acres of cypress forests and protective wetlands. Monitoring happens by air, land and boat to promote environmental enforcement, prevent wetland degradation, and enhance health and longevity of our Basin. Special thanks to @johnchittyimages for the stunning photograph.
The final program we developed in 2020 was a partnership between the Brown Foundation and the LSU Health Foundation; we issued a planning grant for this program in 2019 and we couldn’t be prouder to see the project surging forward in 2021. We are giving the LSU Health Foundation a grant of $250,000 to implement a new pharmacy model to be rolled out in several cities in Louisiana. The LSU Health Foundation is working with PBM Solutions to create a pharmacy that would directly help organizations, such as municipalities, grappling with rising health care costs. The nonprofit pharmacy model offers an innovative, yet simple solution—a customized on-site pharmacy—that minimizes costs, while maximizing value. The pharmacy project will entail the employment of a licensed pharmacist and the purchase, on the wholesale and generic market of low cost, high quality pharmaceutical medications which will then be sold under the health benefit plans of the institutions to the employees through the newly created non-profit pharmacy. This should save both institutions (initially the City of New Orleans and LSUHSC) millions of dollars annually from their current plans. The pharmacy will have small logistical operations on both the LSUHSC campus and City Hall and will utilize a proven prescription drug mailing model for timely distribution. Timing will include contracts and startup models occurring over the next 12-18 months at both locations.

The primary benefits of an on-site pharmacy include: (1) Convenient access to a one-stop shop for health care and pharmaceutical needs, (2) Immediate and long-term savings with lower pharmacy costs and copays, and (3) Improved health outcomes for employees over time. The Brown Foundation is enthusiastic about the LSU Health Foundation roll out this program into additional cities in the near future. “With the grant from The Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation, the LSU Health Foundation plans to move forward in taking crucial steps to explore, initiate and open the pharmacy in New Orleans Health Sciences Center in 2022. We are extremely proud of expanding and improving our mission related services through the utilization of cutting-edge entrepreneurial initiatives like this one,” says LSU Health Foundation President and CEO Matthew Altier (featured in the photo above along with LSU Health Foundation Chairman Henry Miller). “The LSU Health Foundation is both proud and grateful to our partners like the Brown Foundation who recognize innovation as a way to grow and help the community where and when most needed.”

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