Alyssa Aguirre, LCSW, is a recognized leader in aging and dementia care with 16 years of experience spanning clinical social work, health systems innovation, and research. She serves as Assistant Director of Dementia Care Transformation at The University of Texas Dell Medical School Department of Neurology and Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work.
Alyssa has dedicated her career to designing innovative models of support for family caregivers of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD), advancing palliative care research, and providing direct clinical care to patients and their family care partners.
Alyssa’s current research focuses on validating caregiver outcome measures and technology innovations. She is co-Principal Investigator of a $1.45 million grant from the Department on Health and Human Services, designing training modules in brain health and caregiving for health professions students. She was competitively selected for a Sojourn Scholar Leadership Award from the Cambia Health Foundation and in 2023 was named a Faculty Scholar with the NIA IMPACT Collaboratory Faculty Scholars Program.
Alyssa holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan with a Specialist in Aging Certificate, and a Certificate in Interdisciplinary Teams and Healthcare from Boston University. She has served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Alzheimer’s Association Capital of Texas Chapter and is an avid volunteer and advocate for the organization.
Alyssa’s mission is to improve the quality of life of older adults living with dementia and their family caregivers through clinical practice, education, research, and community collaboration. Her vision is to serve as a leader and change-agent for palliative care initiatives that become catalysts for transforming caregiving programs on a national level.