Patricia Junquera

Marc E. Agronin, MD, is a board-certified adult and geriatric psychiatrist and currently works as the Chief Medical Officer for the Frank C. and Lynn Scaduto MIND Institute and for Behavioral Health at Miami Jewish Health. He is an Affiliate Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Agronin is a graduate of Harvard University, summa cum laude, and the Yale School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in adult psychiatry at Harvard University's McLean Hospital and then a geriatric psychiatry fellowship at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. Dr. Agronin is the 2008 recipient of the "Clinician of the Year" award from the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) and is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the AAGP. Dr. Agronin is a national expert in Alzheimer's disease and geriatric mental health, and is the author of the acclaimed books "How We Age: A Doctor's Journey into the Heart of Growing Old" (2011) and "The End of Old Age: Living a Longer, More Purposeful Life" (2018). Dr. Agronin has written nine other books and hundreds of articles, including "The Dementia Caregiver: A Guide to Caring for Someone with Alzheimer's Disease and Other Neurocognitive Disorders" (2015). He has been published in The New York Times and writes regular articles on aging, health and retirement issues for The Wall Street Journal.

Patricia Junquera, M.D., is Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. She is a board-certified psychiatrist with specialized training in adult and geriatric psychiatry and extensive experience in academic medicine, clinical leadership, medical education, and the development of innovative behavioral health programs.

Dr. Junquera completed her psychiatry residency in Miami and pursued fellowship training in Geriatric Psychiatry. Throughout her career, she has held leadership positions across diverse clinical settings, including academic medical centers, the Veterans Affairs system, correctional health, inpatient and outpatient services, and graduate medical education. She has played a key role in developing psychiatric training programs, consultation-liaison services, and standardized approaches to mental health care.

At FIU, Dr. Junquera leads initiatives focused on expanding access to high-quality psychiatric care, strengthening medical education, supporting faculty development, and advancing innovative treatments. She has been instrumental in developing neuromodulation services, including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and esketamine treatment for treatment-resistant depression, while supporting the expansion of additional interventional psychiatric services.

Her clinical and academic interests include geriatric psychiatry, depression, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, neuromodulation, mental health innovation, and emerging technologies in psychiatry. Dr. Junquera is also deeply committed to reducing mental health stigma and increasing community education. Through leadership, mentorship, clinical innovation, and public engagement, she works to strengthen behavioral health services while preparing the next generation of physicians and mental health professionals.

Ilan Melnick, MD, is the primary psychiatrist in two outpatient clinics in the Miami, Florida area, as well as a staff psychiatrist and Chief Medical Officer at Passageway Residences of Miami-Dade County. In addition, Dr. Melnick is a staff psychiatrist and Medical Director for Jewish Community Services and performs independent medical and psychiatric evaluations for Miami-Dade County police, fire, transit and aviation departments.

Dr. Melnick received his medical degree in Bayamon, Puerto Rico and went on to do his residency in psychiatry and fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital.He continues to be involved in education as an Assistant Professor at Florida International University School of medicine. He continues to be involved in education through his role giving grand rounds at major universities and hospitals around the world.