Monday, January 27, 2025
  Media Advisory, Health, Community

By News and Internal Communications

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – JAN. 27, 2025 – International speakers will present transformative research to enhance the quality of life for individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) and their families at UTRGV’s second annual “Memory and Heart Connections” event on Thursday, Jan. 30.

Hosted by UTRGV’s Alzheimer's Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RGV AD-RCMAR), this free, community-focused event is open to the public and will feature actionable findings from experts in the field.  

Keynote speakers include Dr. Joanne Curran and Dr. Gladys Maestre from UTRGV’s AD-RCMAR, alongside Dr. Claudia Satizabal from UT Health San Antonio’s Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Researchers from Italy, Nigeria, Venezuela and Colombia will also discuss various factors influencing memory loss, ranging from architecture and diet to emotional stress. Additionally, strategies for family members caring for loved ones with ADRD will be shared, emphasizing the importance of self-care.  

According to the South Texas Alzheimer's Disease Research Center:  

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Brownsville Independent School District Central Administration Building Auditorium, located at 1 Boulevard of Champions.

For more information on the event, contact omar.oropeza@utrgv.edu or call 956-882-7278. 

ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.