Gov. DeSantis taps two Jacksonville doctors for Alzheimer’s board

One in five Floridians is over 65 years of age.

Gov. Ron DeSantis selected two doctors Friday from Jacksonville for the state’s Alzheimer’s Disease Advisory Committee.

Dr. Jonathan Gonzalez works at Sound Physicians Florida and Beaches Internal Medicine and Associates. He is also the owner of JG MED, LLC, described on his LinkedIn profile as offering “concierge medical cannabis services.”

Gonzalez received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida, master’s degree from Florida International University, and his medical degree from Ross University. He belongs to the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Corrine Labyak, of Jacksonville, is an associate professor at the University of North Florida.

A licensed dietitian, Labyak serves as the president of First Coast Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a member of the Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatments.

Labyak earned her bachelor’s degree from Florida State University, a master’s degree from the University of North Florida, and a doctorate in nutritional sciences from the University of Florida.

According to her faculty bio, her research interests include the “impact of nutrition education on improving malnutrition across the lifespan … (and) the impact of nutrition on chronic disease and nutritional psychology.” The study of dementia has been central to her scholarship thus far.

In the coming years, Florida expects to bear a particular burden from the disease, a function of a large elderly population, with one in five Floridians 65 years of age or older.

According to the 2021 annual report from the Alzheimer’s Disease Advisory Committee, roughly 580,000 Floridians have the disease. That number is expected to increase to 720,000 by 2025.