The Institute for Ethnomedicine Inc Dba Brain Chemistry Labs

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201829529
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Jackson, WY, USA
Phone
8013756214
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Medical Research N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,604,008
Expenses
$3,281,985
Assets
$3,594,726
Liabilities
$275,102

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • PAUL ALAN COX PHD (Executive Dir.): $401,692 total reported compensation
  • SANDRA BANACK (SENIOR SCIENTIST): $284,712 total reported compensation
  • MARILYN ASAY (EXECUTIVE ASSISTAN): $185,037 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The institute for ethnomedicine searches for new cures by studying plant medicine and patterns of wellness and disease among indigenous people.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Brain Chemistry Labs seeks to discover novel ways of preventing, diagnosing, and treating brain diseases. Our current focus is on progressive neurodegenerative diseases characterized by protein misfolds, including Alzheimers, ALS, Parkinsons, and Lewy Body disease. We are sponsoring a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase II clinical trial of the amino acid L-serine for the treatment of Mild Cognitive Impairment (a precursor of Alzheimers disease) at Houston Methodist Research Institute. We are currently raising funds for advanced clinical trials of L-serine for ALS, and a clinical trial for WY40687, a new drug we have discovered for advanced Parkinsons disease. We have discovered microRNA fingerprints, extracted from extracellular vesicles in the bloodstream, which are diagnostic for ALS as well as a novel metabolite which is diagnostic for early-stage Alzheimers disease. We have also discovered that naturally occurring small proteins, called cyclotides, may be useful as chemotherapy adjuvants for glioblastoma.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 87
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.3%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 80.8%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $33.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.9%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.1; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 33.5%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.3% of revenue deployed · 80.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $402K · 16 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $220K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.