Texas voters approved a $3 billion amendment to advance brain health research on Nov. 4, establishing the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas underTexas Proposition 14.
The measure’s passage came one week after neurosurgeon Dr. Hunt Batjer and former Chicago Bears linebacker Mike Singletary led the second installment of a three-part “Leading the Conversation Speaker Series.” During a two-hour luncheon, the two encouraged support of the proposal and discussed its potential to expand neurological disease prevention and treatment, particularly for athletes in contact sports.
“It will enrich the lives of generations of Texans for many years down the line to deal with cognitive decline during life, of many causes,” Dr. Batjer said.
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The series has played a key role in advancing brain health policy, building on its first event, where leadership fromAlzheimer’s Texas andDarrell K. Royal Research Fund helped advance Senate Bill 5 and Senate Joint Resolution 3 through the legislature.
“For years, we have worked to elevate brain health to the level of urgency it deserves, and Amendment 14 is the result of that persistence,” Debbie Hanna, president of the DKR Research Fund, said in a press release.
The scale and urgency of this dementia initiative reflect a growing statewide concern for brain health, uniting advocates from across disciplines. Singletary, who, despite having no personal history of major brain trauma, became aware of the long-term effects of head trauma faced by fellow players upon his induction into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
“You’re sitting in a room with all your heroes,” Singletary said during the luncheon. “But then, after a few minutes, you begin to see that there are a number of guys checked out, just looking straight ahead. And I’m thinking, ‘Why doesn’t anybody else see this?’ It’s just one of those things where they played in the NFL, they had a career that was over.”
That moment never left Singletary. As concerns about concussions in the NFL grew in the early 2000s, Singletary felt compelled to act. He connected with Batjer, who was then recently appointed chair of neurological surgery at UT Southwestern. After an initial three-hour conversation, they began shaping a vision for long-term investment in brain health.
Singletary advocated for stronger safety protocols that ensure athletes develop proper technique and adopt enhanced protective gear early to reduce the risk of major injuries in the future. He also wanted help for his former teammates, who are currently suffering from neurological conditions.
“For me, it is finding the help that they need, finding the answers that they need,” Singletary said.
For Batjer, the passage of Proposition 14 marks a milestone in the field of neurological care, offering the potential for expanded access to therapies.
Fromneuromodulation to electrostimulation, the funding will expand the capabilities of biomedical technologies to address conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. With roughly144,000 Texans sustaining traumatic brain injuries each year, the creation of the institute would also enhance treatments and improve preventative care for patients across the state.
“We were thinking of the hundreds of millions of children playing collision sports,” Dr. Batjer said during the luncheon. “You know that these policy changes could protect them through life.”