Cohort 
2019

Sheila Castro-Suarez, MD

Neurologist

We need to educate the population on brain health and work as a team to reduce the scale and impact of dementia.

Current Work

Sheila is a staff neurologist and clinical researcher at the Behavioral Neurology Department of the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas, a government-run tertiary level neurological center for neurologic patients located in Lima, Peru.

Personal Hero

Her parents, Jacinda Arden

Words of Strength

Helping others, courage, honesty, fairness

Vision

Sheila believes we need to educate the population on brain health from infancy and childhood, train our health professionals and work as a team to reduce the scale and impact of dementia.

Strategy

Sheila is working with trained and interconnected groups of health professionals working under shared clinical and research protocols in Lima, Peru, for early identification of the FTD patients, taking in mind the socio-cultural factors around the diagnosis of FTD.

Impact

As an Atlantic Fellow, she has gained clinical and research skills in dementia, and healthy aging; combined with GBHI mentorship, this allowed her to establish connections with different engagement people in the dementia world.

Motivation

In Peru, persons with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are under-recognized or are diagnosed late in their disease course. Cultural and other social determinants may affect the appearance and interpretation of FTD signs and symptoms, leading to a delay in diagnosis, treatment, and management.