Massachusetts General Brigham (MGB)
Grant Information
This grant supports Massachusetts General Brigham’s INSPIRE initiative, a collaboration with the Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers to strengthen refugee participation in neuroscience research and brain health care. Building on established partnerships with resettled refugee advisors, the project brings together refugees, clinicians, and researchers to co-develop approaches that elevate community priorities and experiences. Through a combination of narrative photography activities and structured community engagement studios, participants will document their daily encounters with brain health challenges and work with practitioners to identify research questions, care needs, and opportunities to improve understanding of refugee brain health.
The project will engage community members across multiple languages and regions, using flexible, culturally responsive outreach to reduce barriers to participation. Narrative photography will allow participants to create visual stories that reflect their lived experiences, while community engagement studios will provide facilitated spaces for dialogue, collective reflection, and the co-development of research and care recommendations. Data from discussions, interviews, and participation metrics will help refine the engagement model, and a toolkit and photography exhibition will support sharing and future replication.
By centering refugee perspectives in the development of neuroscience research and care strategies, this project advances the Dana Frontiers objective of piloting inclusive, multidirectional engagement models that deepen trust and broaden who can meaningfully shape neuroscience.