Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, M.D., Ph.D., has been named the 2020 recipient of the Ohtli Award one of the highest civil honors that the Mexican government bestows to those who have given assistance to Mexican citizens, promoted their culture, or work with the Mexican community abroad. Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola is an internationally renowned expert on mental health in ethnic populations. As on-site principal investigator of the Mexican American Prevalence and Services Survey the largest mental health study conducted in the United States on Mexican Americans; he identified the most prevalent mental health disorders in the Mexican-origin population in California"s central valley; showed that the rate of disorders increases the longer the individual resides in the United States; and demonstrated that children of immigrants have even greater rates of mental disorders. From this study, he developed a model of service delivery that increased access to mental health services among the Central Valley"s low-income, underserved, rural populations. Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola received his M.D. degree at
Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico. Follow the virtual ceremony this upcoming Thursday, September 17 at
Consulado de Mexico in Sacramento. 
