Announcing 10 Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Awards
On April 15, 10 teams of artists and early career researchers were named 2026 Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Awards recipients. Each team will receive a grant of $25,000 to support an interdisciplinary research project whose results will contribute to the growing body of scientific evidence underpinning the field of neuroarts. The awards program, established by the Renée Fleming Foundation in 2024, is administered through the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative, a partnership between Johns Hopkins University and the Aspen Institute. With this latest cohort of awards, approximately $600,000 has been provided to carry out 26 innovative, cross-disciplinary neuroarts research projects.
Unique in its approach, the Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Awards program is designed to help build the field of neuroarts by
- providing seed funding for arts practitioners and early career researchers to collaborate on innovative neuroarts research
- identifying and filling key gaps in neuroarts research
- encouraging, developing, and supporting a new generation of neuroarts professionals.
Acclaimed soprano, Renée Fleming, co-chair of the NeuroArts Blueprint Advisory Council, Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health for the World Health Organization, and author of the anthology Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness, has long been committed to a broader understanding the science behind the power of the arts. Her work to establish this program and the awarding of a third round of grants reflects her ongoing commitment to fostering inquiry and collaboration among artists and young scientists.
“From my own experience as an artist, I have long been aware that the arts and wellbeing are inextricably linked,” said Fleming. “But empirical scientific evidence is crucial for understanding these connections. The Investigator Awards give pairs of artists and scientists the unique opportunity to collaborate in this space and advance the benefits of arts and aesthetic experiences to help us flourish both as individuals and as a society.”
Expressing her excitement as the new cohort of grantees is announced, Susan Magsamen, executive director of the Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics and co-director of the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative, commented, “This group of awards demonstrates that the field of neuroarts is a rich source for scientific exploration and these teams, which will each be paired with mentors from the neuroarts field, are studying important questions about how the arts can be harnessed to positively affect health across an array of conditions.”
The 10 research projects selected were reviewed by an independent review committee and represent a range of innovative methodologies across diverse art forms and scientific disciplines to address significant health and wellbeing issues. Co-chaired by Dr. Eric Nestler, renowned neuroscientist and dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Jewel, 4-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, visual artist, actress, best-selling author, and mental health pioneer, the interdisciplinary review committee of researchers and arts practitioners shared their expertise and time in reviewing numerous award applications.
The Music Within: Neural Markers of Imagined Sound and Memory – Dr. Claire Arthur and Dr. Alexandria Smith, Georgia Institute of Technology
Music for Autonomic Rehabilitation in Long COVID: A Pilot Study – Dr. Elizabeth Bast, Miami Veterans Medical Center and Joshua Roman, cellist and composer
Sticks and Kicks: Using fNIRS to Explore Rhythmic Improvisation in Drummers and Tap Dancers – Dr. Katelyn Berg, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Dr. Elinor Harrison, Washington University in St. Louis
Neural Patterns of Meaning-Making to Study How Art Produces Shared Social Realities – Dr. Heidi Biggs, Georgia Institute of Technology and Dr. Sonali Gupta, Wavelet Labs
“Parkinson's, And”: Medical Improv for People with Parkinson's Disease – Dr. Sneha Mantri and Dan Sipp, Duke University School of Medicine
We Made This Film: An Investigation of Filmmaking as a Therapeutic Tool in School-based Occupational Therapy – Dr. Lisa Raymond-Tolan, New York University and Julie Meslin, DOROT
Building Resilient Beginnings through a Virtual Music Program for Preterm Infants – Dr. Amy Smith and Dr. Miriam Lense, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Evaluating Theatre and Storytelling as a Neuroarts-Informed Health Coaching Intervention for Young Adults Living with Obsessive-Compulsive Related Disorders (OCRDs) and Complex Trauma – Dr. Zoe Smith, University of Denver and Dr. Saharra Dixon, Arts in Health Practitioner
Shining Light on Story Drama: Neural Correlates of Emotion Processing in Preschoolers with and without Neurodiversities – Dr. Neelima Wagley, Arizona State University and Jenny Millinger, Childsplay Theatre
SLOWART Connections: A Social Prescription for Dementia-Care Dyads in Southeastern North Carolina – Dr. Charlotte Weiss, University of North Carolina Wilmington School of Nursing and September Krueger, Cameron Art Museum
“Once again, through the Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Awards, creative and promising research will receive well-deserved yet desperately needed support, generating new knowledge and promoting a new cadre of professionals—all in the cause of building the field of neuroarts,” added Ruth J. Katz, executive director of the Health, Medicine & Society Program at the Aspen Institute and co-director of the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative. “We are very excited and most proud about our 2026 awardees. We wish them all the best and look forward to seeing their results.”
Read the full press release here.
Learn more about the Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Awards recipients at Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Awards 2026 Award Recipients - NeuroArts Blueprint
