CAPAS
Dr. Hilsabeck is a neuropsychologist with experience in ADRD psychometrics, including validation of neuropsychological measures and psychometric characteristics of cognitive measures in ethnically diverse populations. She uses cognitive performance combined with voice analysis and machine learning techniques.
She co-leads the CAPAS Program Development Core and serves as liaison with the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Network (TARCC).
Dr. Himali a statistician with expertise in longitudinal studies for dementia, including working with the consortium Methods for LOngtitudinal studies in DEMentia (MELODEM), an international initiative to harmonize data across longitudinal studies of AD/ADRD. He spearheaded efforts across all Framingham Heart Study cohorts to make data sets available to all investigators.
He supports the CAPAS Communication & Dissemination Core, focusing on data sharing and dissemination of longitudinal cohorts for Hispanic AD/ADRD.
Dr. Lin is a medical sociologist and family demographer whose research examines health inequalities across the life course. His work leverages complex longitudinal cohort data from both national and international aging surveys to better understand evolving family dynamics.
He helps coordinate the Pilot Projects program and the professional training opportunities for emerging scholars in the CAPAS Program Development Core.
Dr. Martinez serves as dean of the College of Fine Arts and is an expert in bilingualism, modern languages and literatures at UTSA. His research focuses extensively on language barriers and their effects on healthcare among Hispanics, incorporating insights into language concordance as a mechanism to reduce disparities.
He co-leads the CAPAS Communication & Dissemination Core, primarily supporting the development of research synopsis and bilingual health communication strategies.
Dr. Patel is an expert in models of care among low-income populations and interventions to improve quality of life for families caring for persons with dementia. She focuses on recruitment and enhances the capacity of ADRD studies by educating and engaging community members in early detection, care, treatment, and prevention.
She contributes to the CAPAS Communication & Dissemination Core by facilitating opportunities for community-facing educational outreach.
Dr. Ramirez is a leader in public health promotion research. She leads teams within a national health network for Latinos, using digital communication to augment awareness and community efforts for system change, and positive behavior changes in AD/ADRD, cancer, and healthy lifestyles among all populations, especially Latinos.
She co-leads the CAPAS Communication & Dissemination Core in communications to the public and serves as liaison for community outreach and institutional support.
Dr. Reistetter is an occupational therapist and health services researcher with expertise in tracking functional and cognitive outcomes to foster independence in old age. His work primarily evaluates clinical rehabilitation outcomes and health services related to brain health.
He co-leads the CAPAS Program Development Core, where he helps recruit and integrate new investigators into AD/ADRD research.
Dr. Riosmena is a social demographer with expertise on health-related selectivity of Latino immigrants and the dynamics of return migration. He investigates how migratory life courses and socio-environmental exposures shape late-life health, as well as physical and cognitive function.
He serves as Co-Director of CAPAS, co-leads the CAPAS Administrative and Research Support Core, and functions as liaison with the Program Development Core.
Dr. Satizabal is a neuroepidemiologist with focus on psychosocial, lifestyle, environmental, and genomic factors driving AD/ADRD. She serves as Principal Investigator of the San Antonio Heart and Mind Study (SAHMS) and serves as liaison with the ADRC Center at the Biggs Institute.
She brings her expertise on longitudinal cohorts for ADRD, contributing to data sharing in the CAPAS Communication & Dissemination Core.
Dr. Schmidt is an applied demographer with research experience in health disparities, cancer outcomes, and the social determinants of health. She has extensive expertise in quantitative methods, clinical and translational research, and healthcare program evaluation.
She provides her evaluation expertise to the CAPAS Administrative and Research Support Core.
Dr. Sparks is a sociologist and demographer whose research focuses on spatial inequality, residential segregation, and structural health disparities. Her work investigates how neighborhood-level factors, educational access, and socio-demographic barriers contribute to premature aging among Hispanic populations.
She provides leadership within the CAPAS Program Development Core with a focus on mentoring and developing emerging scholars.
Dr. Wong is a population economist, expert in Hispanic cognitive and broader aging and population health studies, with experience in data collection, data sharing, and cross-national research with longitudinal aging studies. She serves as Principal Investigator of the Mexican Health and Aging Study and the Cognitive Aging Ancillary Study Mex-Cog.
She serves as co-director of CAPAS, co-leads the CAPAS Administrative and Research Support Core, and acts as liaison with the Communication & Dissemination Core.