Center for BrainHealth and Dallas College expand collaboration to launch research-driven partnership.
Center for BrainHealth ® , a nonprofit translational research institute at The University of Texas at Dallas, and Dallas College have kicked off a new BrainHealthy Campus research partnership designed to equip students, faculty and staff with science-backed strategies to strengthen brain performance, support well-being, and improve academic success outcomes.Through this collaboration, the Dallas College community will gain access to a comprehensive suite of brain health workshops, trainings, curriculum, assessment tools, and digital resources. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to empowering individuals with practical, evidence-based strategies to strengthen brain health and optimize performance across the lifespan.
About the Program
Key elements of the initiative include training faculty and staff on core brain health principles and strategies they can reinforce with students to strengthen emotional well-being and critical reasoning skills – with the added benefit of similarly empowering themselves. The program will also deliver tailored workshops for students focused on strengthening strategic attention, integrated reasoning, and innovation skills, alongside topic-driven sessions that address stress management, mindfulness, and social connection. Participants will have access to regular brain health assessments, allowing them to track changes in brain performance over time. To ensure long-term sustainability, the partnership includes ongoing access to self-directed online training and application tools through the BrainHealth Platform.
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“This initiative builds on years of collaboration with Dallas College and reflects more than three decades of cognitive neuroscience research demonstrating that it is never too soon to become proactive about your brain’s fitness and performance,” said Lori Cook , PhD, CCC-SLP, director of clinical research at Center for BrainHealth. “By integrating our evidence-based tools and strategies into the campus experience, we are equipping students – as well as faculty and staff – with actionable ways to become more strategic and intentional about how they think, manage challenges, and thrive in an increasingly complex world.”
“We are deeply committed to supporting the whole student—academically, emotionally, and socially,” said Thaddeus Mantaro , PhD, dean of student health and wellness at Dallas College. “This partnership brings innovative, science-backed resources directly to our community, and we are optimistic about its potential to enhance student well-being, strengthen academic success, and ultimately contribute to improved retention.”
Advancing Research, Empowering Individuals, Building Community
This collaboration serves as a research and programmatic partnership aimed at expanding understanding of how proactive brain health strategies can improve outcomes in post-secondary education settings.
“Dallas College recognizes that students are more than learners. We understand that their academic success is closely linked to their personal growth, emotional well-being, and overall health,” said Carlos Cruz , EdD, associate vice chancellor of Dallas College.
Philanthropic Support
The BrainHealthy Campus initiative at Dallas College is fueled by grants from The Meadows Foundation and The Hoglund Foundation .
About Center for BrainHealth
Center for BrainHealth ® , part of The University of Texas at Dallas, is a nonprofit 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 the continual growth of cognition, well-being and social connections 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 thrive and unlock their brain potential. Translational innovations leverage 1) the BrainHealth Index , a proprietary measure that uniquely charts one's upward (or downward) brain health trajectory whatever their starting level; and 2) Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics ( SMART™ ) brain health training, a strategy-based toolkit developed and tested by BrainHealth researchers and other teams over three decades. The center's landmark longitudinal study, The BrainHealth Project , launched in 2020 with the goal of identifying actionable strategies for optimizing brain health throughout life, uncovering the dynamic relationship between lifestyle factors, biological markers, brain training and cognitive performance. It is co-led by Dr. Sandi Chapman , Dr. Mark D'Esposito , Dr. Geoff Ling , Dr. Ian Robertson , Dr. Vince Calhoun and Tom Leppert , with Georgeann and Adm. William McRaven (ret.) serving as national spokespersons.
About Dallas College
Founded in 1965, Dallas College consists of seven campuses — Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, North Lake and Richland — plus a dozen centers located throughout Dallas County. As one of the largest community colleges in the U.S., Dallas College offers online and in-person learning, serving more than 133,000 credit, workforce and continuing education students annually. Students benefit from partnerships with local school districts, four-year universities, industry and community leaders. Dallas College offers associate degrees and career/technical certificate programs in more than 100 areas of study, as well as bachelor’s degrees in education, nursing, software development and management. As the largest provider of dual credit in Texas, Dallas College serves 30,000 high school students through 64 dual credit programs. As the need for lifelong brain health has never been more urgent, a new group of community leaders is stepping forward to expand awareness, engagement and impact across North Texas and beyond.Center for BrainHealth at UT Dallas has appointed new members to its 2026-27 Advisory Board, bringing together leaders from business, health care, science, technology, real estate and philanthropy who share a commitment to advancing brain health for all.