Past Speakers
Click on the year to open up the accordion item and see a listing of our speakers throughout that year.
January 2025
January 14, 2025
Andrea S Méndez C., MD, PhD. Neurology Resident at Duke University and medical doctor from Maracaibo, Venezuela
Presentation: Advanced MRI, Lifestyle, and Brain Health: Understanding White Matter Plasticity in Cognitive Aging
January 28, 2025
Ryan Oprea, PhD. Professor of Economics and Maxwell C . and Mary Pellish Chair in Economics at the University of California - Santa Barbara
Presentation: Decisions under Risk Are Decisions under Complexity
February 2025
February 11, 2025
Jorge Igor Zwir, PhD. Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Presentation: Navigating the Digital Health Landscape: Deciphering Mental Health and Dementia Through Patient Journey Analysis
February 25, 2025
Murat Karabulut, PhD, FACSM, CSCS, CEP. Associate Dean of Research and Professor in the College of Health Professions at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Presentation: The Feasibility of Remotely Delivered Blood Flow Restriction Training in Caregivers of Adults with Alzheimer Disease or Other Dementias
March 2025
March 11, 2025
CJ Martinez Menendez, MD. Assistant Professor of Neurology and Interim Program Director of Neurology Residency at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
Presentation: Advancing Neurologic Care in the Rio Grande Valley: Overcoming Barriers and Paving the Way Forward
March 25, 2025
Monica Rivera Mindt, PhD. President, Hispanic Neuropsychological Society, Professor of Psychology, Fordham University, and holds a joint appointment in Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Presentation: Creating More Generalizable and Valid AD/ADRD Research
April 2025
April 08, 2025
Lisa MB Salinas, PhD, RDN, LD. Clinical Assistant Professor at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley and RCMAR Scholar at the RGV AD-RCMAR
Presentation: The Power of Pulses – Pulses and Alzheimer’s Disease
April 22, 2025
Daniel Sullivan, PhD. Director of the Social and Personality Psychology Graduate Program, Associate Professor of Social and Personality Psychology, and Director of the Cultural-Existential Psychology Laboratory at the University of Arizona.
Presentation: Psychological Stress, Community Resilience, and Chronic Environmental Contamination
May 2025
May 06, 2025
Steven Heine, PhD. Professor of Social and Cultural Psychology and Distinguished University Scholar at the University of British Columbia
Presentation: Cultural Fit and Sleep Duration
May 20, 2025
Danny Marrero, PhD Assistant Professor and Director of the Philosophy Pre-Law Concentration at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Presentation: Are the Rights of the Rio Grande a Necessary Condition for the Mental Well-being of the Latino Inhabitants of South Texas? Lessons from Latin American Eco-jurisprudence
June 2025
June 03, 2025
Ayodola Anise, MHS. Senior Director of Operations at the Milken Institute Health.
Presentation: Assessing Meaningful Community Engagement
June 17, 2025
Tirthankar “TC” Chakraborty PhD. Staff Scientist in Earth System Modeling Group under the Atmospheric, Climate, and Earth Sciences Division of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Presentation: Disparities in urban heat hazard and exposure
July 2025
July 01, 2025
William H. Dow, PhD. Professor of Health Policy and Management in the Department of Demography and
Director of the Center on the Economics and Demography of Aging at the University of California–Berkeley
Chris Soria, PhD Student at the University of California – Berkley
Presentation: Hispanic Migrant Cognitive Aging
July 29, 2025
Angélica Muñoz, PhD. Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry and Nutrition and the Universidad CES
Presentation: Nutrition and Brain Health: Opportunities for Prevention Across the Lifespan
August 2025
August 12, 2025
Erin Easton, PhD. Director of the UTRGV Marine Ecosystems Institute and Assistant Professor in the School of Earth, Environmental and Marine Sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Presentation: Southeast Pacific Seamounts - Exploration and Discovery
August 26, 2025
Emma Nichols, PhD MPH. Research Scientist at the University of Southern California - Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research
Presentation: Methodological challenges in cross-national research on cognition and dementia in the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) surveys.
December 2024
December 17, 2024
Alan Francis, PhD. Assistant Professor of Neuroscience
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
Presentation: The Addiction Connectome: Multimodal 7T neuroimaging in Cannabis, Tobacco and Alcohol.
December 3, 2024
Xi Mao PhD, Assistant Professor of Economics in the Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and a RCMAR Scholar.
Presentation: Odd Work Schedule and Well Being: Heterogeneity by country of origin
November 2024
November 8, 2024
Ann Van de Winckel, PhD, MSPT, PT. Assistant Professor at the Medical School of the University of Minnesota in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine (Division of Physical Therapy, and Division of Rehabilitation Science)
Presentation: The effect of Mind-Body approaches on Sensorimotor Function and Neuropathic Pain in Adults with Spinal Cord Injury.
October 2024
October 22, 2024Matthew Dacso MD, MSc, FACP. Director of the Charles E. Cheever, Jr. Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics and a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Presentation: Addressing the Evolving Burden of Neurologic Disease – Moving from “Global” to “Glocal” Approaches
October 8, 2024
Lorena Flores Hernandez, OD. Board certified Optometrist at UT Health RGV and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the UTRGV School of Medicine
Presentation: Potential Ocular Biomarkers that may help detect early Alzheimer's disease
September 2024
September 24, 2024
Jeremy Tanner, M.D. Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UTHealth San Antonio and faculty in South Texas Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
Presentation: Biomarkers for AD - To Infinity and Beyond
September 10, 2024
Maria Mora Pinzon, MD, MS, FACPM Assistant Professor in the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health
Presentation: Understanding Motivations: The Intersection of Myth and Reality in Alzheimer’s Care Among Latinos in the USA
August 2024
August 27, 2024
David K Johnson, M.A., Ph.D Professor of Neurology in the University of California at Davis, School of Medicine and Director of UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center - East Bay San Francisco
Presentation: The Good Life Program for Healthy Aging: A New Standard of Care for Geriatric Health in California
August 13, 2024
Candace A. Robledo, PhD, MPH Associate Professor Population Health and Biostatistics
Presentation: Let's Talk Maternal Health: Building Capacity of Address Health Disparities in South Texas.
July 2024
July 16, 2024
Valentina Rose Garbarino, Ph.D Assistant Professor, Department of Cell Systems & Anatomy Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's & Neurodegenerative Diseases UT Health San Antonio
Presentation: Exploratory biofluid biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease
July 2, 2024
Jesus Melgarejo, M.D., Ph.D Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine and RCMAR Scholar
Presentation: Relevance of Blood Pressure Variability in Age-Related Neurological Disorders