UCLA to host first Brain Health Summit, bringing together national experts to address a growing public health crisis
Two-day gathering of scientists, policymakers, philanthropists and community advocates to be livestreamed free to global audiences March 20–21
UCLA Health will host its first-ever Brain Health Summit on March 20-21, bringing together leading scientists, policymakers, philanthropists and community advocates from across the country to address one of the most pressing and underfunded challenges in public health.
Disorders affecting the brain and nervous system — from neurological, neurodevelopmental, and mental health conditions — impact more than 180 million Americans and are the leading cause of disability in the country, according to a 2025 study published in JAMA Neurology. Yet federal neuroscience research funding has seen significant 2023, leaving scientists, states and private philanthropy to fill a widening gap.
However, momentum is building in the US and abroad with Texas voters approving a historic $3 billion to brain disease research in 2025 and brain economy frameworks gaining traction at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The UCLA Brain Health Summit is the first event to bring together experts from across these traditionally siloed fields neurologists alongside pediatricians, aging specialists alongside childhood neurodevelopment researchers, scientists alongside arts practitioners and patients — to discuss how to discuss how brain health can be prioritized
WATCH LIVE: https://www.youtube.com/live/GiUU8gerE3g — Free, no registration required.
What the Summit Will Address Sessions span the full lifespan and spectrum of brain health:
Brain health policy and funding: what states, philanthropy, and the private sector are doing as federal research investment retreats Technological innovation and AI's role in cognitive health Modifiable lifestyle factors — sleep, breathwork, nutrition, and exercise — and their role in prevention Brain health in childhood: neurodevelopmental disorders and early environmental exposures Art, music, dance, and creativity as tools in neurological care Patient and caregiver perspectives on living with brain disease Measuring brain health and developing a national Brain Health Index Featured Speakers Include Steve Carnevale, Commissioner, California Commission on Behavioral Health Daniel Geschwind, Senior Dean and Vice Chancellor for Precision Medicine, UCLA Harris Eyre, Global Brain Economy Initiative, Rice University Kana Enomoto, McKinsey Health Institute — keynote on human cognitive advantage in the age of AI Jack Feldman, Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience, UCLA Steven Lewis, President, World Federation of Neurology Dilip Jeste, Past-President, American Psychiatric Association, Director, Global Research Network on Social Determinants of Mental Health and Exposomics Jochen Reiser, University of Texas Medical Branch Jake Broder, Global Brain Health Institute, playwright of Unraveled Event Details Dates: Friday–Saturday, March 20–21, 2026 Location: UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center, 425 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095 Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/GiUU8gerE3g More information and full schedule: https://teams.semel.ucla.edu/longevity/event/ucla-health-brain-health-summit If you plan to attend in person, please contact UCLA Health media relations officer Will Houston at whouston@mednet.ucla.edu
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Disorders affecting the brain and nervous system — from neurological, neurodevelopmental, and mental health conditions — impact more than 180 million Americans and are the leading cause of disability in the country, according to a 2025 study published in JAMA Neurology. Yet federal neuroscience research funding has seen significant 2023, leaving scientists, states and private philanthropy to fill a widening gap.
However, momentum is building in the US and abroad with Texas voters approving a historic $3 billion to brain disease research in 2025 and brain economy frameworks gaining traction at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The UCLA Brain Health Summit is the first event to bring together experts from across these traditionally siloed fields neurologists alongside pediatricians, aging specialists alongside childhood neurodevelopment researchers, scientists alongside arts practitioners and patients — to discuss how to discuss how brain health can be prioritized
WATCH LIVE: https://www.youtube.com/live/GiUU8gerE3g — Free, no registration required.
What the Summit Will Address Sessions span the full lifespan and spectrum of brain health:
Brain health policy and funding: what states, philanthropy, and the private sector are doing as federal research investment retreats Technological innovation and AI's role in cognitive health Modifiable lifestyle factors — sleep, breathwork, nutrition, and exercise — and their role in prevention Brain health in childhood: neurodevelopmental disorders and early environmental exposures Art, music, dance, and creativity as tools in neurological care Patient and caregiver perspectives on living with brain disease Measuring brain health and developing a national Brain Health Index Featured Speakers Include Steve Carnevale, Commissioner, California Commission on Behavioral Health Daniel Geschwind, Senior Dean and Vice Chancellor for Precision Medicine, UCLA Harris Eyre, Global Brain Economy Initiative, Rice University Kana Enomoto, McKinsey Health Institute — keynote on human cognitive advantage in the age of AI Jack Feldman, Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience, UCLA Steven Lewis, President, World Federation of Neurology Dilip Jeste, Past-President, American Psychiatric Association, Director, Global Research Network on Social Determinants of Mental Health and Exposomics Jochen Reiser, University of Texas Medical Branch Jake Broder, Global Brain Health Institute, playwright of Unraveled Event Details Dates: Friday–Saturday, March 20–21, 2026 Location: UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center, 425 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095 Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/GiUU8gerE3g More information and full schedule: https://teams.semel.ucla.edu/longevity/event/ucla-health-brain-health-summit If you plan to attend in person, please contact UCLA Health media relations officer Will Houston at whouston@mednet.ucla.edu
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