MOST STUDIES OF ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA LACK REPRESENTATION FOR LATINOS AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.

Dr. Mónica Rivera Mindt, a board-certified neuropsychologist, is Past-President of the Hispanic Neuropsychological Society and a tenured Professor of Psychology, Latinx Studies, and African & African American Studies at Fordham University with a joint appointment in Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her multidisciplinary, community-based research is funded by the NIH/National Institute of Aging (NIA) and Genentech. Her work primarily focuses on the intersection between cultural neuroscience and health disparities in cognitive aging. Her current studies are examining genetic, cerebrovascular, and sociocultural risk factors for cognitive impairment and dementia in Latinx, Black, and Indigenous adults, as well as ways to increase diverse representation in cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research. In addition, she is Co-Lead of the NIA-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative’s (ADNI) Diversity Task Force. She has authored ~100 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters dedicated to three lines of inquiry, including: 1) the effects of biopsychosociocultural factors on cognitive aging; 2) how sociocultural factors impact the expression of neurologic disease, cognition, and health behaviors; and 3) the identification of resilience and modifiable factors to promote brain health in vulnerable and underserved populations. At the national level, Dr. Rivera Mindt serves as Chair of NIH/NIA’s AGCD-4 Study Section, and is a member of the CDC’s BOLD Public Health Center of Excellence on Dementia Risk Reduction Expert Panel and the CDC/National Alzheimer’s Project Act’s (NAPA) Physical Activity, Tobacco Use, and Alcohol Workgroup. Locally, she serves as a Board Member for the Alzheimer’s Association’s NYC Chapter and a Treasurer for the Harlem Community & Academic Partnership (HCAP). As a bilingual (Spanish/English), Afro-Latinx/Indigenous neuroscientist, she brings a unique perspective to her research and is the recipient of several awards for her research, teaching, and contributions to the field, including the 2019 Hispanic Health Leadership Award from the National Hispanic Medical Association. She is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 40, Society for Clinical Neuropsychology), the National Academy of Neuropsychology, and Hispanic Neuropsychological Society. In her spare time, she enjoys surfing all over Latin America and the U.S. with her husband and two sons.

Dr. Robinson-Papp is a practicing neurologist and clinical researcher. She studies chronic pain, judicious opioid prescribing, and the neurologic complications of HIV including autonomic neuropathy and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder. She is the Director of the Mount Sinai NeuroHIV Program and Autonomic Laboratory. A nationally and internationally recognized researcher, Dr. Robinson-Papp is funded by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Her expertise has been recognized by her inclusion on numerous committees and advisory groups including: the American Academy of Neurology Science Committee, Neurological Sciences Training Review Group, Global HIV Pain Task Force, and Executive Board of the World Federation of Neurology Autonomic Disorders Subspecialty Group. Clinically, Dr. Robinson-Papp is the senior attending neurologist for the Institute for Advanced Medicine, where she provides neurologic care to people living with HIV and oversees pain management services. In addition, Dr. Robinson-Papp performs electromyography (EMG), autonomic testing, and intraoperative neurologic monitoring, to aid in the diagnosis of neurologic disorders.