FAU Unites Experts to Understand Human Resilience
When life hits hard, why do some of us bend while others break? Florida Atlantic University is launching a pioneering center to unravel that mystery — bringing brain scientists, social workers, clinicians, psychologists and artists under one roof to decode the science of human resilience.
The new center, called the Center for the Resilient Mind, is supported by the Stiles- Nicholson Brain Institute (SNBI). “We can say what we want about what’s good for you, but we seek to offer insights grounded in a modern neuroscience that reveals the integrative function and plasticity of the brain,” said Randy D. Blakely, Ph.D., executive director of SNBI and professor of biomedical science in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine.
With a planned launch of the center in 2026, the SNBI has raised more than $1 million toward its $2.5 million goal. Programs within the center will innovate resiliency research in four main areas: resilient youth, resilient aging, resilient communities and artistic reliance.