Cohort 
2022

Maryenela Illanes-Manrique, MD

Psychiatrist

To reduce the scale and impact of dementia, we need to identify the socioeconomic and cultural determinants that affect access to a multidisciplinary approach to care for individuals and families living with dementia from diverse communities. 

Current Work

Maryenela is a psychiatrist and the chief of Neurogenetics Research Center at the National Institute of Neurological Sciences (INCN) in Lima Peru. She has been attending patients with neurodegenerative and neurogenetics diseases, which have increase her knowledge about genetic and epigenetic mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases, as dementia.

Personal Hero

My parents

Words of Strength

Self-motivation, empathy, proactive

Vision

To reduce the scale and impact of dementia, Maryenela believes we need to identify the socioeconomic and cultural determinants that affect access to a multidisciplinary approach to care for individuals and families living with dementia from diverse communities.

Strategy

As investigator of the Alzheimer's disease genetics study in Peru, Maryenela has worked to develop a local research network in multiple regions. This experience showed her the importance of cooperation to improve access to health services and research studies for diverse populations.

Impact

As an Atlantic Fellow, Maryenela aims to improve her clinical skills and establish durable research collaborations for improving access and care for individuals with dementia and their families and caregivers across diverse populations.

Motivation

Peru has gaps in the quality of healthcare in the different regions. People with dementia, their families, and caregivers have limited access to health care with a multidisciplinary approach which takes into account socioeconomic,linguistic and cultural aspects.