Gladys Elena Maestre is a neuroscientist from Venezuela who is a professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. She is known for her work on Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

Gladys Maestre
Alma materUniversity of Zulia School of Medicine
Columbia University
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
University of Zulia
ThesisApolipoproteins and Alzheimer's disease (1996)

Education and career

edit

Maestre has a B.S. from St. Vincent of Paul in the city of Maracaibo and in 1989 she was awarded an M.D. degree by the University of Zulia School of Medicine.[1] She received an M.Phil. (1995) and a Ph.D. (1996) from Columbia University.[1][2] Maestre taught psychiatry and neurosciences from 1992 through 2014 at the University of Zulia. She served as director of the Neuroscience Laboratory of the Institute of Biological Research School of Medicine.[3][4] As of 2022, Maestre is a professor of neurosciences and human genetics at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine (UTRGV). She is also director of the UTRGV Alzheimer's Disease Resource Center for Research on Aging of Minorities, and directs the Maracaibo Aging Study, a community-based longitudinal study of age-related diseases.[5][6]

Work

edit

Maestre's doctoral research focused on the influence of brain genetics on mental health and memory-based diseases, demonstrating that the presence of the Ԑ4 allele of the apolipoprotein gene is related to the risk of Alzheimer's disease.[7][8][9] Maestre has led international initiatives to build capacity for research and services aimed at improving prevention and treatment of dementia and other age-related diseases in low-to-middle-income countries,[10] Bolivia, Haiti,[11] and Venezuela.[4][12] In 2021, she was funded to work on Alzheimer's in the Rio Grande Valley which has a high rate of memory loss among seniors.[13][14]

Awards and recognition

edit

In 2000, Maestre received the Bruce S. Schoenberg Award for neuroepidemiology from the American Academy of Neurology.[15] In 2018 she received the highest distinction for life in science from the Bolivian Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.[citation needed] The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley awarded her with the 2019 excellence award for research.[16][17]

Selected publications

edit
  • Kalaria, Raj N; Maestre, Gladys E; Arizaga, Raul; Friedland, Robert P; Galasko, Doug; Hall, Kathleen; Luchsinger, José A; Ogunniyi, Adesola; Perry, Elaine K; Potocnik, Felix; Prince, Martin (September 2008). "Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in developing countries: prevalence, management, and risk factors". The Lancet Neurology. 7 (9): 812–826. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(08)70169-8. PMC 2860610. PMID 18667359.
  • Mayeux, R.; Ottman, R.; Maestre, G.; Ngai, C.; Tang, M.-X.; Ginsberg, H.; Chun, M.; Tycko, B.; Shelanski, M. (1995). "Synergistic Effects of Traumatic Head Injury and Apolipoprotein-epsilon4 in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease". Neurology. 45 (3): 555–557. doi:10.1212/WNL.45.3.555. ISSN 0028-3878. PMID 7898715. S2CID 24390962.
  • Maestre, Gladys; Ottman, Ruth; Stern, Yaakov; Gurland, Barry; Chun, Michael; Tang, Ming-Xin; Shelanski, Michael; Tycko, Benjamin; Mayeux, Richard (1995). "Apolipoprotein E and alzheimer's disease: Ethnic variation in genotypic risks". Annals of Neurology. 37 (2): 254–259. doi:10.1002/ana.410370217. ISSN 1531-8249. PMID 7847867. S2CID 24556884.
  • Nitrini, Ricardo; Bottino, Cássio M. C.; Albala, Cecilia; Custodio Capuñay, Nilton Santos; Ketzoian, Carlos; Llibre Rodriguez, Juan J.; Maestre, Gladys E.; Ramos-Cerqueira, Ana Teresa A.; Caramelli, Paulo (August 2009). "Prevalence of dementia in Latin America: a collaborative study of population-based cohorts". International Psychogeriatrics. 21 (4): 622–630. doi:10.1017/S1041610209009430. hdl:11449/12504. ISSN 1041-6102. PMC 8324310. PMID 19505354. S2CID 23680151.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Maestre CV" (PDF).
  2. ^ Maestre, Gladys Elena (1996). Apolipoproteins and Alzheimer's disease (Thesis). OCLC 36257436.
  3. ^ Staff, M. D. N. (2019-05-01). "Mentoring Unexpected Advocates for Alzheimer's Patients, Caregivers". Mega Doctor News. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  4. ^ a b "Mujeres en Ciencia: Venezuela sus historias inspiradoras" (PDF). pp. 182–185.
  5. ^ Maestre, Gladys E.; Pino-Ramírez, Gloria; Molero, Aldrin E.; Silva, Eglé R.; Zambrano, Raquel; Falque, Luis; Gamero, María P.; Sulbarán, Tulio A. (2002). "The Maracaibo Aging Study: Population and Methodological Issues". Neuroepidemiology. 21 (4): 194–201. doi:10.1159/000059524. ISSN 0251-5350. PMID 12065882. S2CID 2768955.
  6. ^ Maestre, Gladys E.; Mena, Luis J.; Melgarejo, Jesus D.; Aguirre-Acevedo, Daniel C.; Pino-Ramírez, Gloria; Urribarrí, Milady; Chacon, Inara J.; Chávez, Carlos A.; Falque-Madrid, Luis; Gaona, Ciro A.; Terwilliger, Joseph D. (February 2018). "Incidence of dementia in elderly Latin Americans: Results of the Maracaibo Aging Study". Alzheimer's & Dementia. 14 (2): 140–147. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2017.06.2636. PMC 5803319. PMID 28943198.
  7. ^ Mayeux, Richard; Stern, Yaakov; Ottman, Ruth; Tatemichi, Thomas K.; Tang, Ming-Xin; Maestre, Gladys; Ngai, Colleen; Tycko, Benjamin; Ginsberg, Henry (November 1993). "The apolipoprotein ?4 allele in patients with Alzheimer's disease". Annals of Neurology. 34 (5): 752–754. doi:10.1002/ana.410340527. ISSN 0364-5134. PMID 8239575. S2CID 19269139.
  8. ^ Maestre, Gladys; Ottman, Ruth; Stern, Yaakov; Gurland, Barry; Chun, Michael; Tang, Ming-Xin; Shelanski, Michael; Tycko, Benjamin; Mayeux, Richard (1995). "Apolipoprotein E and alzheimer's disease: Ethnic variation in genotypic risks". Annals of Neurology. 37 (2): 254–259. doi:10.1002/ana.410370217. ISSN 1531-8249. PMID 7847867. S2CID 24556884.
  9. ^ Roses, A. D.; Weisgraber, K.; Christen, Y., eds. (1996). Apolipoprotein E and Alzheimer's Disease. Research and Perspectives in Alzheimer’s Disease. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-80109-9. ISBN 978-3-642-80111-2. S2CID 28233156.
  10. ^ "Experts offer advice when it comes to caring for a loved-one diagnosed with Alzheimer's". KVEO-TV. 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  11. ^ "Alzheimer en América Latina - Laboratorio de Neurociencias". studylib.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  12. ^ "Nutritional deficiencies in adults and elderly".
  13. ^ "UTRGV professor awarded $3 million for Alzheimer's study". KRGV. March 16, 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  14. ^ Srikanth, Anagha (2020-11-17). "Does where you live affect whether you'll get Alzheimer's? New research says it could". TheHill. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  15. ^ "Awards History". www.aan.com. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  16. ^ "UTRGV mentoring unexpected advocates for Alzheimer's patients, caregivers". www.utrgv.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  17. ^ "Exceptional accomplishments by faculty recognized at annual UTRGV awards program". www.utrgv.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
edit