 "Photo: Photo courtesy Time magazine")
Aida Giachello, associate professor of social work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was named to Time magazine's list of the nation's 25 most influential Hispanics.
Giachello founded the Midwest Latino Health Research, Training and Policy Center at UIC 12 years ago. Time says the center has since become a "national model for engaging community leaders, rather than outside 'experts,' in collecting data, assessing medical needs and developing plans for combating health problems that disproportionately affect Latinos."
Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Giachello operates three diabetes-focused self-care centers in struggling Chicago neighborhoods, each serving roughly 1,000 residents a month, many of them undocumented and uninsured.
Giachello completed her undergraduate work in social sciences at the University of Puerto Rico and her graduate studies at the University of Chicago, where she earned a master's degree and a doctorate.
As an educator, writer, community organizer and expert on Hispanic/Latino health care issues, most of Giachello's professional interests, research and policy work focuses on issues of access to medical care, maternal and child health, chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma and cardiovascular disease, multicultural issues in health care, and women's health and social issues.
She serves on many local and national boards and committees, including study groups at the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine. She provides consultation and technical assistance on participatory action research methodologies and minority and women's health issues to many organizations in the public and private sectors.
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