AZA Allsop, MD, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry, is a recipient of the first Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Awards.
The recipients were recently announced by the Renée Fleming Foundation and the NeuroArts Blueprint initiative, a partnership between Johns Hopkins University and the Aspen Institute.
Allsop and the other recipients work in interdisciplinary settings across the sciences and arts to inform the emerging field of neuroarts, defined as the study of how the arts and aesthetic experiences measurably change the body, brain, and behavior and how this knowledge is translated into practices that advance health and wellbeing.
The NeuroArts Blueprint initiative was launched in 2019 to help build the neuroarts field.
“We are thrilled to seed research that uses a range of methodologies to advance our knowledge about how all art forms influence health,” said Eric Nestler, MD, PhD, neuroscientist and dean for academic affairs and chief scientific officer at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and co-chair of the NeuroArts Blueprint Advisory Council.
The Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Awards fund both basic and applied research, supporting a broad range of innovative and collaborative work. Each funded project includes young collaborators from both the science and arts sectors. Seven basic and applied research projects will receive a total of $122,500.
Allsop will examine the impact of live music on heart rate variability, brain activity, and anxiety among people with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers. His co-investigator is Victor Wooten, musician, author, and educator at the Berklee College of Music.
Allsop is director of the Center for Collective Healing at Howard University. He is an artist, neuroscientist, and psychiatrist who conducts research at the intersection of social cognition, music mindfulness, and psychedelics. His research and clinical work are guided by the belief that decoding these tools will provide a better understanding of how social groups function and offer insights into treating mental suffering and enhancing the evolution of society at large.
Renée Fleming, the renowned soprano, is artistic advisor to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, co-chair of the NeuroArts Blueprint Advisory Council, World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health, and author of the just-published anthology, “Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness.”