MEMBERS
In LAC-CD we have associates from different countries, distributed in Members, National representatives and Funding members.
Coordinators Members of LAC-CD
In 2024, Dr. Claudia Duran-Aniotz and Dr. Hernando Santamaría-García assumed leadership as LAC-CD coordinators. Looking ahead, 2025 already holds the promise of being another dynamic year for LAC-CD, marked by the launch of several regional and international initiatives. A key priority will be strengthening the epigenetics network, advancing its development, and conducting a comprehensive survey. Notably, we have already published a paper on this topic in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, highlighting our progress and contributions in the field
Claudia Duran-Aniotz
Claudia Duran-Aniotz is a neuroscientist with a Master’s in Immunology and a Doctorate in Biomedicine, specializing in translational dementia research in Latin America. As co-director of the Latin American Institute for Brain Health (BrainLat) at Adolfo Ibáñez University, her mission is to bridge the gap between basic research and clinical application. Her work focuses on identifying biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and investigating how environmental factors can modulate the biology of dementia.
Through her leadership in major research and clinical collaborations, she seeks to mitigate the social and economic burdens of neurodegenerative disorders. She is actively involved in influential regional initiatives such as the Multi-partner Consortium to Expand Dementia Research in Latin America (ReDLat) and the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium on Dementia (LAC-CD). Additionally, as a member of the Chilean Alzheimer’s Corporation (COPRAD), she is committed to improving the quality of life for patients and their families.
Her dedication extends beyond research; she is passionate about building capacity and fostering the next generation of scientists in Latin America. She advocates for a multidisciplinary approach that integrates rigorous scientific research with community engagement to drive progress in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Her career and personal goals are centered on advancing scientific understanding and developing effective interventions that can transform patient care in global health contexts.
Hernando Santamaría-García
Hernando Santamaría-García, MD, MSc, PhD, is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist with an established academic and clinical career focused on the neural and social mechanisms underlying neurocognitive disorders, with particular emphasis on social vulnerability, stress, and brain health inequalities. He is Director of the PhD Program in Neuroscience at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and a clinical professor and researcher at Hospital Universitario San Ignacio in Bogotá, Colombia.
His research integrates neuroimaging, electroencephalography, and cognitive assessment to examine how social processes and chronic stress shape brain network dynamics, neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline. In parallel, he aims to advance the development and implementation of biomarkers for psychiatric syndromes, promoting biologically informed approaches that bridge psychiatry and neuroscience in clinical and research settings.
He is a Principal Investigator in the ReDLat consortium and serves as a Coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium on Dementia (LAC-CD), contributing to the development of multicenter regional initiatives aimed at advancing dementia research, strengthening cross-country collaboration, and informing clinical practice and public policy across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Funding Members of LAC-CD
Agustín Ibañez
Agustín Ibañez has a relevant track record on social cognitive and neuroscience, as well as dementia research. With more than 120 publications in the last 5 years, including works in top-ten journals as Nature Reviews Neurology, Nature Human Behavior, Brain, JAMA Neurology, World Psychiatry, Journal of Neuroscience.
In Argentina, he is an independent researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council. In Chile, he is a full professor at the Universidad Adolfo Ibañez. He also is an associate researcher at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders (Australia). He is Senior Atlantic Fellow of the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) at the Univeristy of California San Francisco (UCSF) and he is Associate Editor of Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, Cortex, Social Neuroscience, and Scientific Reports, as well as President of the Latin-American section of the Society for Social Neuroscience. His work has been highlighted in media coverage, including the BBC, Nature News, Discovery Channel, Popular Science, Daily Mail, Newsweek, Le Monde, and Oxford University Press.
In the last 5 years, Agustin Ibañez began to move from an exclusive focus on cognitive/social neuroscience and dementia research to the development of a platform to improve prevention, diagnosis, and research of relevant disorders in Latin American countries.
He leads the MULTI-PARTNER CONSORTIUM TO EXPAND DEMENTIA RESEARCH IN LATIN AMERICA (ReDLat) that aims to improve dementia characterization and to develop new advances in dementia treatment in diverse and underserved populations across Latin America—including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru—and the US. These advances will broaden the understanding of the genetic and environmental aspects of frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Mario Parra
Dr. Mario Parra graduated as a Medical Doctor in 1993 and as a Clinical Neurophysiologist in 1997. He worked at the Cuban Neuroscience Centre and at different University Hospitals in Cuba and in Colombia. During his clinical work he focused on neuropsychological and neurophysiological aspects of dementia syndromes and other neurological disorders. He taught neuroscience related subjects in the field of medicine and psychology. His motivation for teaching and research led him to a major career change into academia.
This started with his PhD in 2005 at the University of Edinburgh and continued with three Postdoctoral Fellowships and a position as a Clinical Studies Officer within the NHS Scotland. Dr. Parra was as an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh from 2015 until 2018. He is currently a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. His research interests are Mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal cognitive ageing. Cognitive and behavioural changes in neurodegenerative diseases, with emphasis on Alzheimer’s Disease. The investigation of functional brain changes (fMRI, EEG, ERP, Brain Connectivity) in the course of dementing illnesses and other brain disorders. Development of cognitive tests for the early detection of dementia with emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease. Development of technology-based intervention procedures to enhance functions of everyday life in older people who are experiencing cognitive decline. Dr. Parra also has an interest in the biopsychosocial mechanisms of abnormal behaviours (e.g., violence) in the context of social conflict.