Psychology prof named to national council

Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola

California State University, Fresno psychology professor Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola has been invited by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson to serve on the National Advisory Mental Health Council of the National Institute of Mental Health.

Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola’s appointment has been ratified by Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services to serve a four-year term beginning Oct. 1, 2003.

The council advises Thompson and the Assistant Secretary for Health, the director of the National Institutes of Health and the director of the National Institute of Mental Health on matters relating to the conduct of research, investigations and demonstrations of the cause, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.

It assists research activities by private and public agencies; promoting the coordination of all such research and related activities and the application of their results; training personnel in matters relating to mental health; assisting state or local agencies and other public or nonprofit agencies or institutions in the use of the most effective methods of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders.

The council consists of 18 members appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and five nonvoting ex-officio members.

Aguilar-Gaxiola, a member of the Fresno State faculty since 1990, has been actively involved in a collaborative program designed to increase access to mental health services among the Central Valley’s low-income, underserved, rural populations.

Aguilar-Gaxiola is the on-site principal investigator of the Mexican American Prevalence and Services Survey (MAPSS), the largest mental health study conducted in the United States on Mexican Americans. He is a member of the National Advisory Mental Health Council, National Institute of Mental Health.

He holds several World Health Organization advisory, board, and consulting positions; and is the coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean of the WHO World Mental Health initiative. He is also a member of the Executive Board of Directors and is the chair of the Prevention and Children’s Mental Health Services of the National Mental Health Association. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry.

He is actively involved in several key areas of national and international mental health. His extensive research includes cross-national comparative epidemiologic research on patterns and correlates of psychiatric disorders in general population samples, and the development of culturally sensitive psychiatric diagnostic instruments. His most recent projects include translating mental health research into practical information to be utilized by consumers (and their families), health professionals, service administrators, and policy makers, with the purpose of informing mental health policy decisions and guiding program development at the local, national, and international level.

Aguilar-Gaxiola received his M.D. degree at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara in Mexico and Ph.D. in Clinical-Community Psychology at Vanderbilt University, as well as completing postdoctoral studies in health services research at the University of California, San Francisco.

He is the author of several scientific publications, and the recipient of numerous awards such as the Peabody College of Vanderbilt University Distinguished Alumnus Award, the Medal of Congress (“Medalla de la Cámara de Diputados”) of Chile for work related to mental health research, the Provost’s Excellence Award for Distinguished Achievement in Research at California State University, Fresno, and the 2002 Outstanding Latino Faculty in Higher Education Award by the American Association for Higher Education, Hispanic Caucus.

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