Launching a vision

By Catherine Duncan

Bill and Rebecca Reed have contributed a $1 million leadership gift to UT Health San Antonio to launch their vision for the Bill and Rebecca Reed Center for Precision Therapies and Palliative Care in Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases. It will be funded through a $20 million planned gift that is dedicated to advancing the mission and goals of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases.  

Photographed left to right: Rebecca Reed, Bill Reed, Sudha Seshadri, M.D., Mary Henrich and President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP.

Sudha Seshadri, M.D., founding director of the Biggs Institute and professor of neurology, said the gift is being used to pilot innovative prevention, diagnosis and care approaches targeted to the needs of each patient with dementia, and their caregivers, from the earliest stages through palliative care support. 

“This gift is also allowing us to engage large numbers of affected families so we can study in detail the various biological pathways underlying each families’ dementia,” she said. “This research will help us find new treatments and customize care for each patient, today and for the future.”  

President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, said the university community is grateful for the generosity and vision of the Reeds, who have served as members of the university’s Development Board since 2013. 

“The generosity of our community allowed us to establish the Biggs Institute, and the Reeds have given us the opportunity to add these important programs,” he said. “I know Glenn would be so proud of what Ann and his family, and so many friends like Bill and Rebecca, have done to see his dream realized for patients with Alzheimer’s.”