Research Team Members
Stephanie Santiago-Mejias, PhD
Research Areas
Clinical Research, Population Neuroscience
Contact:
Research Profile
Muralidharan Sargurupremraj, PhD
Muralidharan Sargurupremraj, PhD, is a geneticist with both statistical and molecular biology experience. Dr. Sargurupremraj is an active member of several large-scale consortiums and lead multiple projects generating primary genetic association evidence for complex neurological, neurodegenerative diseases and their various endophenotypes (white matter hyperintensities, brain infarcts, memory performance, etc.). His specific interest is studying the vascular contribution to Alzheimer’s disease – a common form of dementia that often co-exists with cerebrovascular disease. He is involved in the systematic exploration for biological pleiotropy and causal inference using instrumental variable methods with a specific focus on gene prioritization strategies for augmenting the performance of disease-risk prediction that is based on common genetic variants. Dr. Sargurupremraj is also experienced in the application of multi-omics data to infer cell/tissue type specificity in cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) both at the bulk and single-cell resolution. His renewed interest is in studying gene-environment interaction by involving epigenetic information and a specific class of genetic elements that transpose in the genome using robust statistical methods particularly in relation to the magnetic resonance imaging markers for cSVD and atrophy.
Research Areas
Population Neuroscience
Contact:
Research Profile
Claudia Satizabal, PhD
Interests are centered on the lifestyle and genetic determinants influencing abnormal brain aging (cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative neuroimaging markers), stroke, cognitive decline and dementia. Ongoing research is focused on the impact of midlife obesity on the risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s Disease and related endophenotypes, the association between fatty acids and the risk of stroke and understanding the relationship between mitochondrial DNA features and age-related diseases, including Alzheimer’s Disease. Actively involved in the Neurology and Cognitive working groups of the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium, leading projects investigating the genetic determinants of subcortical brain structures fine motor speed and visual memory. Other collaborations, include the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed), the Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP) and the Markers for Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (MarkVCID).
Research Areas
Population Neuroscience
Contact:
Research Profile
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
Contact:
Research Profile