Advancing Human Brain Research Through High-Quality Tissue Preservation
The MBHI Brain Tissue Repository (BTR) at UTMB is dedicated to preserving human brain tissue for state-of-the-art molecular, physiological, and neuropathological research. By combining rigorous tissue preservation with rich clinical and demographic metadata, the BTR enables investigators to study brain function in health and disease using human-relevant samples that support reproducible, high-impact discoveries.
The Brain Tissue Repository aims to become a global leader in functional brain banking, ensuring that each specimen is preserved to maintain biological integrity for structural, molecular, and electrophysiological studies. Our mission is to enable rigorous investigation of brain function in health and disease by providing standardized, quality-controlled human tissue linked to robust clinical and neuropathological data.
Our vision is to establish a global benchmark for functional brain preservation, integrating molecular, electrophysiological, and pathological information into a unified resource that accelerates discovery in neuroscience, neurodegeneration, and neuropathology.
Agenor Limon
Mitchell Center Director & Associate Director of Brain Tissue Repository, MBHI
Dr. Limon is a neuroscientist focused on the molecular and electrophysiological mechanisms that drive synaptic dysfunction in neurodegenerative and neuroinfectious diseases. His group pioneered the microtransplantation of human synaptic membranes, enabling functional analysis of native neurotransmitter receptors in postmortem human brain tissue. He combines electrophysiology, proteomics, and advanced analytics to understand how disease alters human synaptic transmission and leads MBHI’s efforts to establish global standards for functional brain preservation.
Marlene Eileen Villarreal Juárez
Research Associate II
Marlene Eileen Villarreal Juárez, Research Associate II, earned her medical degree from UNAM FES Zaragoza and has extensive experience in histopathology, clinical medicine, and health education. Her work spans academic teaching, preventive medicine, and laboratory research in neurodegeneration and tissue engineering, reflecting her strong commitment to advancing translational biomedical science.
Bailey Salameh
Research Associate I
Bailey Salameh earned her bachelor’s degree in Pre-Medicine from Penn State University. Her research focuses on the physiological and molecular mechanisms of synaptic remodeling in epilepsy and other neurodegenerative diseases. She has extensive experience in electrophysiology, microtransplantation of synaptic membranes, and flow cytometry–based assays of synaptic plasticity, contributing to translational neuroscience research in neurodegeneration.