ESU Backup Insider

Yvonne Troiani Sweeney ’78 always had passion for the well-being of her patients. She dedicated her life to her nursing career that spanned 30 years after earning her bachelor’s degree in nursing from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) and a graduate degree in nursing from Villanova. Her colleagues and patients became her second family. Nursing led her to leadership roles at what is now the Lehigh Valley Health Network, Franklin Square Hospital in Maryland, Albert Einstein Medical Center, and the Geisinger Health System. Wherever her occupation led her, she became an inspiration to others for the incredible level of care she delivered every day.

All of that changed nine years ago for Sweeney and her family, who live in Mountain Top, Pa. Diagnosed with a form of early onset dementia called posterior cortical atrophy, she set aside her career and focused her energy on the daily challenges she faced, alongside her loving husband, Chris, and her two sons, Christopher III and Michael.

Support came in many ways from Sweeney’s family. Her sister, Linda Niedbala ’83, with the help of her husband, Sam Niedbala ’82, started the Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture Series at ESU, which kicked off in March 2014. The Niedbalas wanted this initiative to be a lasting tribute to Sweeney’s devotion to others while making a significant contribution to the education of health care professionals and the community-at-large about the cognitive impairment associated with dementia and other diseases of a similar nature.

The lecture series will continue, for the seventh year, on Thursday, October 31 with a keynote address by Brad Hyman, M.D., Ph.D., titled “Updates on Alzheimer’s Disease.” Dr. Hyman is the John B. Penney, Jr. Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He directs the Alzheimer’s disease research unit at the Massachusetts General Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (MIND).

Hyman studies the anatomical and molecular basis of dementia in Alzheimer’s disease, and Dementia with Lewy Bodies. His research includes a collaborative of several labs working on different aspects of neurodegenerative disease and dementia. He also has a clinical practice in the Memory and Disorder Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital devoted towards the care of patients with dementia. His research laboratory is pursuing research in Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases, with a goal of understanding the neuropathophysiologic and genetic factors that underlie dementia.

The laboratory is developing methods to examine clinical-pathological correlates and biomarkers in Alzheimer’s, as well as animal and cell models to explore the natural history of the diseases. A recent focus has been the use of advanced microscopy methods – including multiphoton microscopy for in vivo imaging of plaques, tangles, and synuclein aggregates, as well as FRET methods to detect protein-protein interactions and protein conformation.

Hyman received his M.D. and Ph.D. from University of Iowa and has received the Metropolitan Life Award, the Potamkin Prize, a National Institute on Aging Merit award, and an Alzheimer Association Pioneer Award. He is the current Director of the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

The Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture Series will take place in the Niedbala Auditorium located inside Warren E. ’55 & Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology Center at 6 p.m. A reception will follow the presentation. The event is open to the general public at no cost.

“This endowed lecture series is a tremendous gift to the university and to our medical community,” said ESU President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D.

For more information about the lecture series, please contact Emily Brennan, special events coordinator at 570-422-3156 or email ebrennan8@esu.edu. Those interested in making a gift to the Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture Series may call ESU’s Office of University Advancement at (570) 422-7000.