HISTORY

In 2015, a small group of colleagues led by Drs. Ibanez and Parra met in Santiago, Chile, during the World Congress of Neurology to discuss how dementia research in Latin America could be better envisioned. Insights gained at this meeting became the building blocks of the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium on Dementia (LAC-CD) which identified the key regional challenges and research priorities. In 2018, with the support of the Alzheimer’s Association and the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), Dr. Ibanez created the first proposal for a dementia research consortium motivated by the unique regional contributions to dementia (genetics and social disparities).

In 2020, the National Institute of Aging provided the first funding stream for ReDLat, which included Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and the US, directed by Drs Ibanez, Yokoyama Possin, Miller, and local researchers (Custodio, Lopera, Matallana, and Nitrini). Subsequent funding (Alzheimer’s Association, Rainwater Charitable Foundation), researchers (Avila-Funes,Behrens, Kosik, Slachevsky, Sosa, Piña-Escudero, Okada de Oliveira, Takada, Valcour), managers (Godoy, Javandel, Maito), and countries (Chile, México) boosted the original research.

To date, the ReDLat family comprises 90+ members organized in working groups and supported by multiple stakeholders. A ReDLat renewal is aimed at 2025.