The Church Ushers Association of New York State
Dan Lewis Foundation | Winter 2024
On November 11, 2023, the Church Ushers Association of New York State held their annual meeting in Brooklyn, New York. The Dan Lewis Foundation was the recipient of their yearly charitable donation. Annually, the Church Ushers Association selects non-profits that seek to improve the lives of others. Janice Nibbs, President of the Church Ushers Association, spoke poignantly of her sister’s struggle with traumatic brain injury and the need to do better. Madeline Meryash and Lynda Helton accepted the donation on behalf of the Dan Lewis Foundation.
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.
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.