Our Work
The Dana Foundation advances neuroscience that benefits society and reflects the aspirations of all people.
The Dana Foundation is a nonprofit, grantmaking institution that works to maximize the potential of the neuroscience field to do good. We’re ambitious in our goals and steadfast in advancing our vision: to use brain science to build a better future. Through our work, we strive to foster collaboration between students, Neuroscience & Society scholars, funders, policymakers, professionals, and communities in pursuit of advancing knowledge and co-creating neuroscience-informed solutions to complex societal problems.
Our Programs
To ensure a positive future, we must better connect neuroscience to the needs of society. We must strive to make the field more inclusive and collaborative. By opening the field up to diverse perspectives, working in closer partnership with other disciplines, and deepening our engagement with the general public, neuroscience can contribute to the flourishing of everyone.
Our Grants
We advance neuroscience that inspires transformational ideas where the field intersects with education, law, policy, and public engagement, among others. With grants that support interdisciplinary, collaborative work, we foster experimentation, investigation, and fresh thinking to open up pathways toward a better future.
Brain Awareness Week
The global campaign to foster public enthusiasm and support for brain science. Every March, participants host imaginative activities in their communities that share the wonders of the brain, and the impact brain science has on our everyday lives.
Testimonials
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"I hope to see the day when science is indisputably woven into the fabric of our collective decision-making, and conversely, when the values and priorities of our communities are woven into the way we do science."Claire Weichselbaum
2021-23 Dana Foundation Barbara Gill Civic Science Fellow
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"Support from the Foundation allowed us to co-create the Dana Foundation Career Network in Neuroscience & Society … the first of its kind. Through career fairs, campus events, a website, and regular newsletters, the Foundation’s investment is facilitating career development for the next generation of leaders in rapidly emerging neuroscience and society fields such as neuroethics, neurolaw, neuroarchitecture, and neuromarketing."Francis Shen, J.D., Ph.D.
Harvard University
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"For decades, the Dana Foundation has been at the vanguard of efforts to communicate neuroscience discoveries to the public. Dana initiated Brain Awareness Week and has supported SfN and many other organizations’ efforts in education, neuroethics, and public communications. "Marty Saggese
Executive Director, Society for Neuroscience (SfN)
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"The Dana Foundation has been a supportive collaborator whose funding has helped us to bring culturally relevant, stimulating, and high-quality science engagement to underserved communities for over a decade, reaching over 2,500 students."Latasha Wright, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer, BioBus