Archives: Our Team
Dr. Leo Morales
Co-Director
Dr. Leo Sergio Morales is a professor and assistant dean for healthcare equity and quality in the UW School of Medicine and founding co-director of the Latino Center for Health at the University of Washington. He received his M.D. and MPH degrees from the University of Washington and his Ph.D. from the RAND Graduate School in Policy Analysis. After completing a residency in primary care internal medicine at the UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital, he was recruited to the UCLA School of Medicine where he held faculty positions as assistant and associate professor, and co-directed the UCLA Resource Center for Minority Aging Research.
He is a past recipient of a Robert Wood Johnson Minority Foundation Medical Faculty Development Award and a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Investigator Award. His research focuses on racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in health and the measurement of patient resorted outcomes in diverse population settings. In recognition of his research contributions, he was inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2007.
In recognition of his efforts to improve the health of Washingtonians, he was 2023 the recipient of Washington State Public Health Association (WSPHA) Annual Secretary’s Award and a recipient of a 2021 Washington State Medical Association Grassroots Advocate Award.
Dr. Gino Aisenberg
Co-Director
Dr. Gino Aisenberg, an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work, is a bilingual/bicultural Latino mental health researcher. He is the founding co-director of the Latino Center for Health at the University of Washington. Previously, he served as associate dean for diversity and student affairs of the Graduate School from 2013-2019.
Dr. Aisenberg is staunchly committed to addressing inequities in the access and utilization of health and behavioral health services by diverse populations. His research interests focus on three interrelated areas impacting underserved ethnic minority populations:
1. traumatic exposure of children and families to community violence and associated post-traumatic stress disorder,
2. depression care for adults, and
3. evidence-based practice.
Dr. Aisenberg obtained his MSW and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Southern California. Since coming to the University of Washington in 2002, Dr. Aisenberg’s research and teaching have been deeply informed by culture and authentic partnerships with community-based agencies serving marginalized and rural communities.