Principal Investigator
Adrian Aguilera, Ph.D. | aguila@berkeley.edu
Associate Professor
University of California, Berkeley
University of California San Francisco, Psychiatry
Director, Latino Mental Health Research Program
Adrian Aguilera, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley and the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Francisco. He received his B.A, from Stanford University and his master’s and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from UCLA. Dr. Aguilera’s research has focused on studying the influence of culture, community and socioeconomic status on mental health along with developing interventions to address health disparities in low-income and minority populations. Dr. Aguilera’s current work has focused on utilizing mobile phone technology to improve mental health interventions in primary care settings with vulnerable populations. He has conducted research using text messaging as a companion to cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) for depression to increase engagement and improve outcomes. He is currently developing a personalized, machine learning based texting intervention to improve physical activity among people with comorbid diabetes and depression. He is committed to utilizing innovative technologies to reduce health disparities.
Research Coordinator
Karina Rosales, B.A. | k.rosales@berkeley.edu
Karina Rosales is the Research Coordinator for the Digital Health Equity and Access Lab (dHEAL). Karina received her B.A. in Psychology and Social Welfare from UC Berkeley in Summer 2020. During her time as an undergrad, Karina volunteered as a Health Advocate for Alameda Health System at Highland Hospital where she supported patients by connecting them to community resources with the goal of minimizing health disparities. Within the Digital Health and Equity Lab she organizes, manages, and implements a variety of different digital health interventions. Karina is passionate about reducing mental health disparities in underserved communities of color by bridging behavioral health care and primary care.
Post-Doctoral Candidate
Marvyn Arévalo Avalos, Ph.D | marevalo@berkeley.edu
Marvyn Arévalo Avalos, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Latinx Center of Excellence in Behavioral Health (LCOEBH) and the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare. Dr. Arévalo Avalos earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Arizona State University where his research focused on prevention of mental and behavioral health concerns among Latinx adolescents. Dr. Arévalo Avalos’ current research interest focuses on developing and testing culturally grounded digital health interventions with underserved populations, particularly Latinx. Prior to joining UC Berkeley, Dr. Arévalo Avalos completed his predoctoral internship in psychology at the University of Maryland Counseling Center, his Bachelor of Science in Human Development at UC Davis, and has experience working in a behavioral health nonprofit organization. On a personal note, Marvyn enjoys spending time outdoors, playing board games, cooking, and spending time with his partner, family, and friends.
Graduate Students
Alein Y. Haro, MPH | aleinharo@berkeley.edu
Alein Y. Haro, MPH, is a Ph.D. student in Health Policy, Population & Data Science program. Alein's research examines how social processes create social conditions that affect physical and mental health and create health inequities. She specifically studies the association between occupational and non-occupational exposures, like immigration policy vulnerability, and their effects on mental health outcomes among the most vulnerable workers, including immigrant day laborers. Alein is an RWJF Health Policy Research Scholar and seeks to use her work to create and implement policies and culturally-relevant digital health interventions that advance equity and health. She earned her BA and MPH from UCLA.
Claire Boone, MPH | cboone@berkeley.edu
Volunteer Research Assistants
Vivian Yip | vivianyip@berkeley.edu
Vivian Yip is an undergraduate studying Molecular Environmental Biology major at UC Berkeley. Vivian is passionate about being a part of shaping and improving healthcare coverage in the United States and addressing social determinants of health within her community. As a volunteer for Health Advocates and position as a peer counselor at UC Berkeley, she has seen how there are still limits to medicine and health disparities that need to be recognized in order to improve patient care. She hopes to understand the research that drives public and mental health in order to make health care services more accessible to low-income populations. As a research assistant, she is involved in a pilot project on mHealth intervention ethics and data privacy, which entails qualitative data collection and analysis.
Suchitra Sudarshan |suchitra.suds@berkeley.edu
