The McKnight Brain Research Foundation Pilot Grants

As part of its commitment to improving quality of life by advancing the understanding and alleviation of age-related cognitive decline and memory loss, the McKnight Brain Research Foundation funds pilot grants across the four McKnight Brain Institutes to initiate promising new medical research projects exploring the brain.


Current Pilot Grants


Vulnerability of older adults to financial deception schemes: A Novel Invention Tool

Principal Investigator
Bonnie E. Levin, Ph.D., University of Miami

A Pilot Intervention with Near Infrared Stimulation:  Revitalizing Cognition in Older Adults

Principal Investigator
Dawn Bowers, Ph.D., University of Florida

Transcutaneous Vagal Nerve Stimulation and Cognitive Training to Enhance Cognitive Performance in Healthy Older Adults

Principal Investigator
John B. Williamson, Ph.D., University of Florida

Improving Age-Related Cognitive Decline with Exercise in Hypertensive Older Adults: A Pilot Study to Investigate A Retinal Microvascular Biomarker and the Role of IGF

Principal Investigator
Ronald M. Lazar, Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham

Reuniting the Brain and Body to Understand Cognitive Aging: The Nexus of Geroscience and Neuroscience

Principal Investigator
Abigail Hernandez, Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham