Clinical Researchers
Sudha Seshadri, MD
Sudha Seshadri, MD, is a behavioral neurologist and the Robert R. Barker Distinguished University Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry and Cellular and Integrative Physiology at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio. Since December 2017, she has served as the founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases which was awarded a National Institute on Aging designated Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in 2021. The Biggs Institute combines comprehensive, compassionate, continuing clinical care for a broad range of vascular and neurodegenerative diseases with basic, computational and epidemiological research, community outreach, advocacy, training and education. The institute has a special emphasis on bringing the most advanced precision prevention, diagnosis and treatment approaches to the underserved Hispanic communities in South Texas.
Dr. Seshadri completed her medical education and residency training in Internal Medicine and Neurology at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, the Madras Medical College, Chennai and at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. She later completed a second residency at Boston University, along with fellowship training in the Neurobiology of Aging and in Neuroepidemiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Framingham Heart Study where she remains a senior investigator, with an adjunct appointment as professor of neurology at Boston University.
Her research interests are in uncovering the biology of Alzheimer’s and related dementias, stroke and vascular brain injury through epidemiological, genetic, multi-omic and biomarker studies on large, population-based cohorts. In parallel, she continues to see patients and lead clinical trials of promising therapies. She has over $95 million in grant funding from the National Institutes on Health (NIH), over 500 peer-reviewed publications, mentored over 45 physicians and scientists and won awards as a teacher, clinician and researcher, including election to Alpha Omega Alpha and the Association of American Physicians. Dr. Seshadri has lectured extensively, nationally and internationally and leads several national and international consortia. She is a recognized thought leader in Alzheimer’s and has been featured over 150 times in public media. Her goal is to leave a legacy of some effective preventive or therapeutic interventions for dementia, and a cadre of dedicated and caring clinicians and scientists whom she has helped empower.
Research Areas
Biological & Innovative Research, Clinical Research
Neela Patel, MD, MPH, CMD
Neela K. Patel, MD, MPH, CMD, has developed a superb reputation in geriatric care for the care. Dr. Patel and her team have developed a model of integrated care for older adults across all clinical settings including acute care inpatient elder care, skilled nursing care and long-term custodial care, rehabilitation center care and palliative and hospice care called the CARINO Approach. This approach is linked to community resources such as home health agencies, the Alzheimer’s association, senior centers, hospital, consultants and other community resources.
At the Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Dr. Patel’s role is to develop and implement closely integrated, seamless care patterns across clinicians– ranging from screening in primary care offices, personalized preventive advice, diagnosis and differential diagnosis and developing integrated care plans. She collaborates with team members for supporting community care providers and family caregivers, as behavioral, medical and neurological issues arise, to manage severe dementia, discussion of advance directives and palliative care/hospice care support.
Dr. Patel serves on the Community Advisory Board for the UT Health San Antonio School of NursingCaring for the Caregiver Program. She is also the co-primary investigator with Dr. Carole White on a PCORI – Grant to enhance palliative care and end of life care for persons with dementia where she is an integral part of the grant’s stakeholder advisory council.
Research Areas
Clinical Research
Alicia Parker, MD
Within the field of memory disorders, there is a strong need for increased clinical resources, research studies and educational training. With this in mind, Alicia Parker, MD, has worked to bring clinical, research and educational opportunities to the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Disorders.
As the first physician to join the Biggs Institute, and the first Cognitive and Behavioral Neurologist to practice in Bexar County, Dr. Parker established the Memory Disorders Clinic and the multidisciplinary MIND clinic. She is the Co-Director of the FTD Clinic, along with Campbell Sullivan, PSYD, ABPP-CN, in Neuropsychiatry, which specializes in treating patients with behavioral and language disorders. Dr. Parker serves as the Clinic Director for the Biggs Institute.
Dr. Parker has helped bring research opportunities to patients with dementia and their caregivers. She is involved in and is site PI for multiple clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. She is interested in the interaction of heart and brain health, and has ongoing research studying the impact of diastolic dysfunction and dementia.
Regarding educational training, Dr. Parker gives didactic instruction in research and cognitive topics. She has helped develop clinical rotations for students, residents and fellowship programs, and is a member of the Neurology Residency Program Evaluation Committee. She is the Co-Director, with Arash Salardini, MD, being the Director of the Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry Fellowship program, which is accredited by UCNS.
Research Areas
Clinical Research