Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture Series Continues on October 29 with Presentation on Personalized Medicine for Alzheimer’s Disease
Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on October 8, 2026, No Comments
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 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 for Sweeney and her family when she was 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 and Linda’s 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. Sweeney passed away in May 2025.
The lecture series will continue, for the 14th year, on Thursday, October 29 with a keynote address by Dr. Daivd Wolk titled “Moving Towards Personalized Medicine for Alzheimer’s Disease.”
Dr. David Wolk is Professor of Neurology, Director of the National Institute of Aging funded Penn Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Co-Director of the Penn Institute on Aging, Chief of the Division of Cognitive Neurology, and Co-Director of the Penn Memory Center.
Dr. Wolk’s research has focused on the cognitive neuroscience of memory decline associated with aging and Alzheimer’s Disease using techniques including behavioral testing, structural and functional MRI, and FDG and molecular PET imaging. Much of this work is also directed at examining biomarkers, including behavioral and neuroimaging, that differentiate healthy aging from the earliest transition to AD and their potential role in understanding disease mechanisms and incorporation into treatment trials. Another related thread of his work has been to better understand, classify and predict sources of heterogeneity in AD. Dr. Wolk has had sustained NIH support since 2003 and has been the principal or co-investigator on numerous local, national and international studies.
Dr. Wolk completed his medical training at Johns Hopkins University, a Neurology residency at the University of Pennsylvania, and clinical Fellowship training in Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School; where he also completed a post-doctoral research fellowship studying memory in Alzheimer’s Disease. Amongst a number of honors, he is the recipient of the American Academy of Neurology’s Norman Geschwind Prize in Behavioral Neurology and the Human Amyloid Imaging Clark Award.
The Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture will take place in the Niedbala Auditorium located inside Warren E. ’55 & Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology Center on Thursday, October 29 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 Kenneth Long.
To register for the event, please visit www.esufoundation.org/troiani-sweeney-lecture-series-2026 or call (570) 422-3332. Space is limited for this event. For more information about the lecture series, please contact the College of Health Sciences at (570) 422-3425 or swerkheis4@esu.edu. Those interested in making a gift to the Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture Series may contact the ESU Foundation at www.esufoundation.org/give-now or call (570) 422-3333.
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