Congressman Gonzalez Announces Over $657,000 for Alzheimer’s Research at UTRGV

WASHINGTON – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) today announced that the National Institute of Aging (NIA), under the direction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institute of Health (NIH), has awarded $657,603 to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley's (UTRGV) Alzheimer's Disease Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (AD-RCMAR). The NIA awarded UTRGV $3,276,391 to establish the Partnerships for Progress Center. The Center is one of the AD-RCMAR's aimed to enhance the diversity of the research workforce of minority aging devoted to Alzheimer´s disease.

This funding will further the efforts of UTRGV´s AD-RCMAR to develop infrastructure and data collections that attract support from researchers in multiple disciplines. This allows the center to conduct research focused at reducing the impacts of Alzheimer´s disease on Hispanics.

Principal Investigator and Professor of Neuroscience at the UTRGV School of Medicine, Dr. Gladys Maestre explained that Alzheimer´s disease impacts Hispanics/Latinos disproportionately, causing immeasurable suffering in people over the age of 65. Hispanics exhibit 1.5 times more of this devastating disorder and face an average onset of symptoms seven years earlier than their Caucasian counterparts. However, the causes of such high vulnerability to Alzheimer´s in Hispanics remains unknown.

"This funding creates the potential for unprecedented breakthroughs in Alzheimer's research at UTRGV," Congressman Gonzalez said. "This unfortunate disease has robbed the health of millions of Americans. I give my full backing to Dr. Maestre and her team to support and enrich the well-being of every American, including those in South Texas. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Washington to ensure that every dollar necessary continues to make its way to UTRGV."

"This grant supports several of the university's core priorities, including our goals to conduct impactful research, provide expanded educational opportunities, and engage with or community," said UTRGV President Guy Bailey. "I would like to thank Congressman Gonzalez and our entire Congressional delegation for their support, and I also thank everyone at UTRGV who assisted in obtaining this grant."

"With the highest proportion of Hispanic residents in the country, the Rio Grande Valley region offers an unprecedented opportunity to address the complex interacting factors that contribute to Alzheimer's disease in Hispanics," Dr. Maestre said. "The Partnerships for Progress Center builds on longstanding strengths in social, behavioral and biomedical research at UTRGV and its goals will be facilitated by alliances with leading Alzheimer Centers in the country and national and local advocacy-patient and community-based organizations."

The project began August 1, 2018, and is estimated to continue until July 31, 2023.