Advancing the Science of Anxiety

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For people who live with anxiety, the experience is often persistent, deeply distressing, and disruptive to everyday life. Despite its prevalence and societal impact, anxiety remains one of the least understood mental health conditions. For researchers and clinicians, it can be challenging to trace symptoms back to the biological processes that cause them. Those processes span levels of complexity from molecular interactions to social behavior, and understanding them requires diverse fields of study, including computational modeling, genetics, and behavioral neuroscience. A deeper, more integrated understanding of these mechanistic layers is essential to drive the next generation of diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventive strategies for anxiety.

The Milken Institute's Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) has partnered with the Dauten Family Foundation to catalyze scientific discovery across the full spectrum of anxiety research. This initiative will map the existing knowledge of anxiety’s underlying biological mechanisms, identify key stakeholders in the anxiety research ecosystem, pinpoint barriers to progress, and, finally, identify opportunities for high-impact philanthropic investment into multidisciplinary anxiety research.

The SPARC team’s expertise in science philanthropy will inform a strategic roadmap to accelerate progress in anxiety science by fostering collaborative efforts that connect laboratory work to real-world impact. Through this initiative, SPARC aims to reshape our understanding of anxiety at its roots, paving the way for more effective, personalized, and biology-driven approaches to care.

 

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Jasmine Jones

Director, Marketing and Communications, Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy
Jasmine Jones is the director of marketing and communications at Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy. She leads the team in developing and executing strategies to amplify the Institute’s stories of impact and drive change through philanthropy.
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Nilmini Rubin

Nilmini Rubin leads global public policy for Hedera, a leading sustainable, enterprise-grade distributed ledger technology network. As chief policy officer, she engages with policymakers, civil society, and the media to shape blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and economic policy.
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British A. Robinson

Chair, Africa, Milken Institute International
British A. Robinson is a true changemaker and influencer with a passion for solving some of the world’s most intractable problems.
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Rose Prinelle

Associate Director, International
Rose Prinelle is an experienced associate director for the International team, bringing more than ten years of experience from the world of business-to-business (B2B) technology communications to her role, where she leads the Institute’s integrated communications programme in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region.
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Angelina Fung

Director, Milken Institute Finance
Angelina Fung is a director at Milken Institute Finance. She leads the Inclusive Capitalism portfolio, which focuses on reshaping financial markets to promote long-term value creation that benefits all stakeholders.
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Jennifer Choi

As CEO of the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), Jennifer Choi directs the association’s engagement with external industry stakeholders to inform and enhance ILPA’s education, research, membership, and advocacy platforms.

Troy Duffie

Director, Financial Markets, Milken Institute
Troy Duffie is director of financial markets at the Milken Institute and has a background in venture capital, social impact investing, and affordable housing.
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Trent Stamp

Trent Stamp has served as CEO of the Eisner Foundation since 2008. In addition, he serves on the boards of the Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy at the University of Southern California, the Center for the Future of Aging at the Milken Institute, Eisner Health and Southern California Grantmakers, where he chairs the audit committee.
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