HARLINGEN — The grand ceiling which soars over the lobby conveys the magnitude of its purpose, the pentagonal chemistry structure symbolizing the reality of that purpose.
As city leaders and health professionals filled the lobby of the brand new UTRGV Institute of Neuroscience, the power of its future was on everybody’s minds. They’d just gathered outside for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the location at 2902 Haine Dr.
The ceremony was held by the UTRGV School of Medicine and its clinical arm UT Health RGV.
A considerable number of speakers addressed the crowd outside the $30 million facility, one of them Dr. Michael Hocker, dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine.
“This is an historic morning,” he said to a crowd that included State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., Mayor Chris Boswell, and Harlingen Superintendent Alicia Noyola.
“A lot of people have contributed to this,” Hocker said. “I want to say this is really transformative for our School of Medicine; it’s transformative for the Valley.”
The institute will have the Alzheimer’s Center for the study of that disease. Doctors and researchers will also study and treat epilepsy, stroke victims, patients with multiple sclerosis, and other maladies.
Medical students pursuing the neurology field will do rotations through the institute.
Dr. Ihsan Salloum, director of the new institute, congratulated all the individuals and organizations that made the institute a reality. He spoke also of the “transformative” nature of the new building.
“Our multidisciplinary team of scientists will harness their synergistic creativity to make the institute a center of discoveries to benefit our community, our state, the national and humanity,” he said.
He and other medical professionals spoke at length about the Alzheimer’s Center at the institute where world-renowned medical scientists will study the disease and offer cures to local patients.
“The major emphasis is on Alzheimer’s Disease, so we will have an active program,” he said recently.
“In fact,” he added, “we will have probably the only research center in Texas between UTRGV and the University of Texas at San Antonio for the study of Alzheimer’s.”
Hocker pointed out that Alzheimer’s study is particularly relevant to the Valley because many residents have diabetes and high blood pressure, and those can affect brain health.
“Our Alzheimer’s Center, the first in Texas, one of 35 in the nation, is going to be housed here,” he said. “We’ll be looking at how we can detect it earlier. How we can prevent it, how we can treat it once the patients get it, and we can transform the lives of those patients with Alzheimer’s Disease.”
Hocker said the institute would also bring high quality clinical care to the Valley.
“This will house our neurology residents in their training program,” he said. “I want to thank Dr. Bailey for having the vision to put this together, to make the connection, to really getting everyone to come together to support this.”
Dr. Nolan Perez, a member of the UT Board of Regents, hailed the work of Guy Bailey, president of the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley.
“The trust that the board of regents has in Dr. Bailey’s leadership, his vision, his decisions, is top notch,” he said.
He also referenced the collaborative efforts of many parties, including the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation, UTRGV, and the City of Harlingen.
“It’s about having collaborative efforts and true partnerships and doing things in a collective impact fashion where all the different stakeholders come together for the students, for the community, for the patients, for the region,” he said.
Bailey commended the years of work effected by Randy Whittington and Bob Shepherd, for whom the front lobby was named.
“They are wonderful people who have done wonderful things for the city, for the university,” Bailey said. “We wouldn’t be where we are as an institution without them.”
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