The University of Texas Medical Branch has received a transformative $25 million gift from the Moody Foundation and its affiliated organization, the Moody Medical Research Institute, which will significantly advance the work of its Brain Health Institute. In recognition of this generous contribution, the Institute will be renamed the Moody Brain Health Institute at UTMB. The gift is payable over a five-year period with the initial years’ funding provided by Moody Medical Research Institute and all subsequent funding provided by The Moody Foundation.
Originally established in 2022, the Institute aims to bring together individuals from various specialties and disciplines to collaborate and ultimately improve neurological and cognitive health. This gift not only allows the Institute’s mission to continue but also to grow and expand.
Guiding the mission of the Institute from the beginning has been its director, Dr. Giulio Taglialatela, professor in the Department of Neurology, the Del Papa Distinguished Chair in Neurodegenerative Diseases and the newly named vice president of Brain Health at UTMB.
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“The importance of the Moody Brain Health Institute at UTMB is that it’s not just another silo,” said Taglialatela. “Instead, it’s a cradle that enables all members of the entire neurosciences community, from neurology and neurorehabilitation, to neurosurgery, addiction, psychiatry and more, to come together and devise innovative strategies to address disorders of the human brain and nervous system.”
Contributing to and supporting the institute’s objectives is important to the Moody Foundation for several reasons.
“The Moody Foundation is proud to support the University of Texas Medical Branch in its mission to advance brain health research. This significant contribution to the Moody Brain Health Institute, gifted in memory of family members who have suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and neurological trauma, reflects our commitment to improving lives through scientific discovery,” said Ross Moody, Trustee of the Moody Foundation. “The Moody Family has a long history of supporting brain health, including initiatives like the Moody Neurorehabilitation Institute. We believe that together, we can make a meaningful impact on the future of brain health for generations to come.”
This gift marks the largest to date received by UTMB under the leadership of Dr. Jochen Reiser, UTMB President and CEO of the UTMB Health System, and UTMB’s new Chief Development Officer James Gallo.
“UTMB is grateful to the Moody Foundation and the Moody Medical Research Institute for this generous gift,” said Reiser. “This support will allow us to build upon the research and successes we’ve already experienced in this area, as we aim to better support the brain health and wellbeing of people on not just a local but a global scale.”
A five-year plan has been developed to guide and direct the Institute’s operations. This plan outlines various phases, detailing the structure of the team, long-term goals and key deliverables. The Institute’s primary focus will be addressing debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, chronic pain, addiction-related diseases, mental health issues and neurological trauma.
“The groundbreaking work we do at UTMB would be impossible without significant support like this from the Moody Foundation and the Moody Medical Research Institute,” said Gallo.
Additional information about the Moody Brain Health Institute at UTMB is available online.