Making Headway: An Evening of Scientific Advances and Musical Interludes
Hal Lewis
Colorful musical note wall sculpture on a white background

Two infotainment programs are now available on the Dan Lewis Foundation website (danlewisfoundation.org). Each program is filled with up-to-date information about brain regeneration and terrific music interludes. The programs are easily accessed by clicking on the “Events and News” tab prominently located on the DLF website. Each program is about 50 minutes long and is structured to be informative and entertaining.


The first program (Part 1) is co-hosted by Dr. Jonathan LaPook, Chief Medical Correspondent for CBS News and Dr. David Margulies, biomedical and biotechnology writer and innovator and co-founder of the Dan Lewis Foundation. The musical performers are  Low Strung, a tremendous group of cellists who arrange and perform classic rock songs, including Dream On, Living On a Prayer, and Hotel California on acoustic cellos and the Yale Symphony Orchestra playing two pieces from their 2025 season repertoire. This is a free program and donations are always appreciated. Donations, large or small, can be made by going to the Donation Form on the DLF website or via Venmo. Donations are fully tax deductible and every donor will receive a personal thank you note and receipt. For donations of $40 or more you will receive a copy of Low Strung’s original CD with 11 classic hit songs. To receive the CD, please be sure to include your mailing address.


The second program (Part 2) presents additional information about the neuroscience and biotechnology of brain regeneration. This program features two great musical artists. The first segment features the Bill Hill Jazz Project. Bill is a percussionist and composer who was the principal tympanist for the Colorado Symphony for over 40 years. Bill is extraordinarily creative--proficient and comfortable in classical, jazz, and world music realms. 


The second musical segment features jazz pianist and Pulitzer Prize winning opera composer, Anthony Davis. Excerpts from interviews with Davis are included in which he describes his approach to combining elements of classical and jazz music to create works which convey a powerful sociocultural message. Several arias from Davis’ operas are included including X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, Amistad, and The Central Park Five. 


We hope you will find time to watch/listen to one or both of these programs. Two interesting and enjoyable programs are promised!

Gloved hands hold a tablet showing medical data in a lab with blurred researchers in the background

ARPA-H Launches a Major Program in Brain Regeneration and Initiates a Second Offshoot Program

By Dan Lewis Foundation • July 24, 2026
ARPA-H, which stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, is an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. One of its major projects is called the FRONT program which stands for Functional Repair of Neocortical Tissue .  The FRONT program focuses on repair and regeneration of the neocortex, the largest part of the brain. The neocortex is critical for many aspects of cognition and everyday functioning. The neocortex can be damaged in many ways including stroke, traumatic injury, and neurodegeneration, such as in Alzheimer's disease. Serious damage to the neocortex often causes individuals to be dependent on costly therapies or caregivers and can also lead to related health and medical problems. The FRONT program hopes to alter this pattern by using cutting-edge neurodevelopmental principles and stem cell technology to regenerate brain tissue and restore lost functions.
Lab technicians in blue gloves working with samples in a bright laboratory

Can Lost Brain Tissue Be Rebuilt?

By Hal Lewis • July 24, 2026
For decades, families facing severe traumatic brain injury have lived with a painful assumption: once brain tissue is lost, recovery is limited to what the surviving brain can re-learn. Rehabilitation can help. Technology can assist. Time can produce surprises. But the central wound—the loss of brain cells, circuits, and connections—has often been treated as permanent. That assumption is beginning to change.