Lakewood Ranch-based Brain Health Initiative looks to add scholars

As a member of the Brain Health Scholar program, Gabrielle Bachtel has the opportunity to teach students at Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy through its adopted Schools for Brain Health program.

“This is a catalyst for us to initiate change in our own lives and the world around us,” said Bachtel, who is a LECOM medical student. “We have our Students for Brain Health clubs, which are specifically designed for the earlier youth and teens to provide them and equip them with the brain health toolkit and knowledge, and how they can enrich their lives with that.”

It is one of the many leadership opportunities Bachtel has had since she became a Brain Health Scholar.

The Brain Health Scholar program began in 2020 with 69 scholars representing 19 schools and universities and two faculty members. In 2022, 43 students comprised the second cohort with eight inaugural scholars who continued with the program as senior scholars. 

Now the Brain Health Initiative is accepting nominations and applications for the next Brain Health Scholar cohort. 

“Each one of our scholars has the opportunity and the responsibility to meaningfully go out into the community and connect (with others) on behalf of the Brain Health Initiative,” said Stephanie Peabody, the founder and executive director of the Brain Health Initiative. 

Brain Health Scholar participants are involved in research and community outreach and learn from lectures from Harvard University scientists and world-renowned experts.

Lakewood Ranch’s Keri McGahren was a member of the inaugural class of scholars in 2020 and continues to work with the program as a graduate student at the University of Florida. 

McGahren said she joined the scholar program because the Brain Health Initiative is at the “forefront of cutting edge research and advocacy aimed at improving the wellbeing of individuals worldwide. Her involvement in the initiative has given her opportunities to “contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge, foster innovation and make a genuine impact on the lives of countless individuals affected by brain health.” 

With what she’s learned from the Brain Health Initiative and the importance of nutrition, McGahren hopes she can combine her knowledge with her passion for the culinary arts. 

“I want to pursue culinary school after I finish grad school with the goal of being able to improve people’s nutritional literacy and their culinary literacy,” she said. “The BHI has taught me how to teach my friends how to use food as fuel and how food can be medicine at the end of the day. That’s something I want to take from teaching my friends in a small group to making a larger impact on larger populations and communities.” 

As a scholar, students learned about the risk factors of brain illness and the preventative measures that can be taken to lessen the risk factors. 

Lakewood Ranch’s Caroline Diesel, a grad student at Florida State University and inaugural Brain Health Scholar, said learning about the importance of prioritizing the food she eats and the productivity of her day has been the most beneficial to not only her life but also her friends’ and family members’ lives.

She thought the times she spent the entire day in a library studying were productive and beneficial, but after learning more about brain health, she learned that was not the case. 

“I’ve realized you have to wake up and be outside, be active and make your brain actually work before you put it to work,” Diesel said. “I honestly believe that not only my relationship with food has become stronger but prioritizing being active throughout the day before I actually put my brain to work has made the most incredible difference in how I feel when I am getting my work done.”