UTHSCSA & UTH Houston

The South Texas study center consists of two recruitment sites: UT Health San Antonio and UT Health Houston.

In San Antonio, the MarkVCID2 study is housed at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative Diseases and the South Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (STAC). The UT Health San Antonio lead investigators are Claudia Satizabal, PhD, a neuroepidemiologist and core lead of the Population Neuroscience Core of the STAC, and Sudha Seshadri, MD, a behavioral neurologist and Director of the STAC and the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative Diseases. Other co-investigators include clinical neuropsychologist Mitzi Gonzales, PhD, Mohamad Habes, PhD, a medical-imaging analyst specializing in machine learning, and Tiffany Kautz, PhD, director of the Biggs Biobank.

Our team also collaborates with two other sites: the University of Vermont and the University of Washington. Russell Tracy, PhD is the Director of the Laboratory for Clinical Biochemistry Research (LCBR) at the University of Vermont, which serves as our site’s core laboratory for MarkVCID analytical testing. Dr. Tracy provides scientific direction and guidance on our data analysis for this study. Bruce Psaty, MD, PhD is a cardiovascular epidemiologist at the University of Washington, and Joshua Bis, PhD, MPH, is a genetic epidemiologist at the University of Washington.

Study Recruitment

We have an enrollment goal of 280 participants between UT Health San Antonio and UT Health Houston. Each site is projected to recruit 140 participants of diverse race/ethnic backgrounds. Our sites have developed recruitment materials in English and Spanish and have multiple bilingual staff members.

UT Health San Antonio will primarily recruit older Hispanic adults as well as a smaller sample of Black/African American and Non-Hispanic white adults. Participant recruitment will mainly occur from 1) previous MarkVCID1 participants (all Mexican American), 2) the South Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC), 3) population-based studies (i.e., San Antonio Heart Study, DIVERSE-VCID, Brain Health), 4) patients receiving care at UT Health San Antonio-affiliated health centers, and 5) through our active outreach efforts in the Hispanic communities via our South Texas ADRC Outreach and Engagement Core.

UT Health Houston will aim to recruit mainly Hispanic and Black/African American older adults but will also recruit non-Hispanic white participants. Participant recruitment will occur from 1) the McGovern School of Medicine Population Health programs, 2) partnerships with Harris County and the city of Houston public health departments, 3) NINDS-funded StrokeNet Gulf regional area network, and 4) patients receiving care at UT Health Houston-affiliated health centers.

In addition, both sites will have Patient Navigators at health centers serving Hispanic and Black/African American older adults to bridge recruitment of participants. We will also enhance our participation in multiple community outreach events in partnership with local organizations with established trust in the community such as Senior Fiesta, Alzheimer’s Association walks, Rodeo, and health fairs.

Study Team

UT Health San Antonio Team

Claudia Satizabal, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health Sciences, Lead of the Population Neuroscience Core of the South Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Sudha Seshadri, MD – Professor, Department of Neurology; Founding Director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases; Director of the South Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center; Robert R. Barker Distinguished University Professor
Mitzi Gonzales, PhD – Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Co-lead of the Clinical Core of the South Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Mohamad Habes, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, Co-lead of the Imaging Core of the South Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Tiffany Kautz, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Director of the Biobank at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Monica Goss, PhD – Program Manager, Population Neuroscience Core
Hector Treviño, MPH – Project Manager, Population Neuroscience Core
Vinu Phillip, MD – Postdoctoral Fellow
Carlos Gaona Ortiz Gil, MD – Postdoctoral Fellow
Ángel Velarde – Research Assistant
Gabriel Vela – Research Assistant
Jazmyn Muhammad – Laboratory Technician

UT Health Houston Team

Myriam Fornage, PhD – Professor, McGovern Medical School Institute of Molecular Medicine Research Center for Human Genetics
Sean Savitz, MD – Professor of Neurology; Frank M. Yatsu, M.D. Chair in Neurology; Director, Institute for Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease
Muhammad Haque, PhD – Assistant Professor; Vascular Neurology - Research, Department of Neurology
Seema Aggarwal, PhD, APRN, AGNP-C – Assistant Professor; Department of Research, Cizik School of Nursing; Director of the Vascular Cognitive Impairment Research Group
Bethany Williams, PhD – Associate Professor; Director of the Neuropsychology Program at the UTHealth Houston Neurosciences Neurocognitive Disorders Center
Jaroslaw Aronowski, PhD – Professor, Department of Neurology; Vice Chair for Research, Department of Neurology; Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Chair in Neurology
Luca Giancardo – Associate Professor; Center for Precision Health, School of Biomedical Informatics
Mandy Hill, PhD – Associate Professor; Director of Population Health in Emergency Medicine and Associate Professor at UTHealth McGovern Medical School
Aylen Sosa – Research Assistant
Jhonny Aguilera – Research Coordinator

University of Vermont Team

Russell P. Tracy, PhD – Distinguished Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine; Division Chief, Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine; Director of the University of Vermont’s Laboratory for Clinical Biochemistry Research

University of Washington Team

Bruce Psaty, MD, PhD – Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, Departments of Epidemiology, Medicine, and Health Services, University of Washington
Josh Bis, PhD, MPH – Genetic Epidemiologist, Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Washington