"We want to increase Hispanic enrollment in clinical trials. One of our goals is to understand the disease in this growing population." -- Sudha Seshadri, M.D., founding director, Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO (PRWEB) February 14, 2020
Health care professionals, scientists and students interested in collaboration and discussion on transformational care, research and therapeutics in Alzheimer’s disease are invited to the 2nd Annual South Texas Alzheimer’s Conference Feb. 23-25 in San Antonio.
To register and for a complete agenda, visit BiggsInstitute.org.
The conference is presented by the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases in partnership with the Alzheimer's Association. The Biggs Institute is part of the Long School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio).
The conference will begin with an opening reception and dinner on Sunday, Feb. 23, at UT Health San Antonio, and will shift venues to the Briscoe Western Art Museum in downtown San Antonio for daylong sessions Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 24 and 25.
Themes will include:
- Alzheimer’s disease in the Hispanic population;
- Precision omics;
- Cognitive and neuroimaging approaches to the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dementia; and
- Novel approaches to the care and treatment of patients and care partners including home-based care.
Scheduled plenary presentations are:
- “Technology to Advance Assessments and Interventions for Dementia” by Jeffrey Kaye, M.D., Layton Endowed Professor of Neurology and Biomedical Engineering at Oregon Health and Science University. Dr. Kaye directs the NIA-Layton Oregon Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology, which incorporates the NIA-Oregon Roybal Center for Care Support Translational Research Advantaged by Integrating Technology.
- “Alzheimer’s Prevention and Preparedness: Addressing Disparities” by Kristine Yaffe, M.D., chief of neuropsychiatry and director of the Memory Evaluation Clinic at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Yaffe occupies the Scola Endowed Chair, is vice chair and professor of psychiatry, neurology and epidemiology, and director of the Center for Population Brain Health at the University of California, San Francisco.
- “Inter-ethnic Differences in Prevalence of Cognitive Impairment” by Christopher Chen, BA, BMBCh, MRCP, FAMS, FRCPE, senior clinician-scientist and associate professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Psychological Medicine at the National University of Singapore, and director of the Memory Aging and Cognition Centre at the National University Healthcare System.
- “An Overview of Promising New Approaches to Preventing and Treating Dementias” by Sudha Seshadri, M.D., founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Robert R. Barker Distinguished University Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Cellular and Integrative Physiology at UT Health San Antonio. Dr. Seshadri is senior investigator of the Framingham Heart Study.
The Hispanic/Latino population is at increased risk of Alzheimer's/dementia. Addressing this is a major point of emphasis for the conference speakers. "This is one reason why we want to increase Hispanic enrollment in clinical trials," Dr. Seshadri said. "One of our goals at the Glenn Biggs Institute, and worldwide, is to understand the disease in this growing population."
The Long School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is named for Texas philanthropists Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long. The school is the largest educator of physicians in South Texas, many of whom remain in San Antonio and the region to practice medicine. The school teaches more than 900 students and trains 800 residents each year. As a beacon of multicultural sensitivity, the school annually exceeds the national medical school average of Hispanic students enrolled. The school’s clinical practice is the largest multidisciplinary medical group in South Texas with 850 physicians in more than 100 specialties. The school has a highly productive research enterprise where world leaders in Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, cancer, aging, heart disease, kidney disease and many other fields are translating molecular discoveries into new therapies. The Long School of Medicine is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center known for prolific clinical trials and drug development programs, as well as a world-renowned center for aging and related diseases.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, dba UT Health San Antonio, is one of the country’s leading health sciences universities and is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. With missions of teaching, research, patient care and community engagement, its schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have graduated more than 37,000 alumni who are leading change, advancing their fields, and renewing hope for patients and their families throughout South Texas and the world. To learn about the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit http://www.uthscsa.edu.
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