UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities

Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, M.D., Ph.D.

Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine; Director of CRHD
Phone: (916) 703-9211
Email: aguilargaxiola@ucdavis.edu

Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis. He is the Founding Director of the Center for Reducing Health Disparities at the UC Davis Health System, the Director of the Community Engagement Program of the UCD Clinical Translational Science Center (CTSC), the co-Director of the UC Davis Latino Aging Research and Resource Center (LARRC), and co-chair of the NIH’s Community Engagement Key Function Committee for the NIH-funded Clinical Translational Science Awards (CTSAs). In 2007, he completed a four-year term as a member of the National Advisory Mental Health Council (NAMHC), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). He was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mental Health America (MHA) for a two year-term (2008-2010). He is currently a Steering Committee and Research Scientist member of the National Hispanic Science Network (NHSN), a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of Autism Speaks, a member of the International Advisory Committee of the Carlos Slim Health Institute, a member of the Board of the Latino Physicians of California, First Vice President of NAMI California, and a member of the California Medical Board’s Cultural and Linguistic Competency Program Workgroup. He has held several World Health Organization (WHO) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) advisory board and consulting positions and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health Surveys Consortium (WMHSC) and its Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola’s applied research program has focused on identifying unmet mental health needs and associated risk and protective factors to better understand and meet population mental health needs and reduce mental health disparities primarily in underserved populations. Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola is the author of over 110 scientific publications. He is the recipient of multiple awards including the 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 DHHS' Office of Minority Health's 2005 National Minority Health Community Leader Award (Hispanic Community), Washington, DC, the 2007 UC Davis Academic Senate Scholarly Distinguished Service Award, the 2008 Latino Mental Health Conference Excellence in Science and Research Award from NYU Univ., the 2009 National Award of Excellence in Blending Research and Practice from the National Hispanic Science Network, and the 2012-2013 UC Davis Chancellor's Achievement Award for Diversity and Community in the Academic Senate category. Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola was a member of the U.S. Institute of Medicine/National Research Council (IOM/NRC) Committee on Depression, Parenting Practices, and the Health Development of Young Children (2007-2009) report and the IOM/NRC Women’s Health Research: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promise (2010) report.

Hendry Ton, M.D., M.S.
Director of Education
hton@ucdavis.edu

Hendry Ton received his A.B. degree in Psychology and Molecular Cell Biology at the University of CA, Berkeley. He graduated from the U.C. Berkeley-San Francisco Joint Medical Program where he attained a M.S. degree in Health and Medical Science, a Division of Public Health and an M.D. Degree and completed his residency at U.C. San Francisco. Currently, Dr. Ton is a Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He is also the Director of Education at the Center for Reducing Health Disparities at UC Davis, where he has authored “Providing Quality Care with CLAS: A Curriculum Toolkit For Healthcare Leaders.” Dr. Ton is the co-founder and Medical Director of the Transcultural Wellness Center, an Asian and Pacific Islander focused community mental health clinic. He has received the UC Davis Chancellor’s Achievement Award for Diversity and Community in 2005 and the 2007 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Community Engagement for his work with communities, ethnic minorities, and cultural competence. Dr. Ton is also the Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry and he leads the UC Davis medical school curriculum on cultural competence. This effort helped the Department of Psychiatry receive the prestigious American College of Psychiatrist’s Award for Creativity in Psychiatric Education for its work on cultural competence in resident and medical student education. Dr. Ton has also received teaching awards for his work with medical students, residents, and faculty.

Efrain Talamates, M.D., M.B.A., MSHPM

Assistant Professor

Associate Director

Phone: (916)703-9210

Email: Etalamantes@ucdavis.edu

Efrain Talamantes is an assistant clinical professor in internal medicine at the University of California, Davis where he serves as the Associate Director for the Center for Reducing Health Disparities and the Associate Program Director for the internal medicine residency program and. He completed a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Fellowship at UCLA & Veterans Affairs with a master’s in health policy and management at the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA.

Dr. Talamantes completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles in psychobiology and received his medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and completed a master’s degree in business administration with a focus on organization and management at the Emory University Goizueta School of Business in Atlanta, Georgia. He subsequently completed his Internal Medicine Residency training at the University of California, Davis in Sacramento, California where he participated in the Transforming Education and Community Health (TEACH) program, a primary care training program for residents interested in caring for the medically underserved. As a resident he was the director of Clinica Tepati, a free clinic for uninsured patients in Sacramento, California.

In 2014, Dr. Talamantes received the Society of General Internal Medicine Mack Lipkin Sr. Associate Member Scientific Presentation Award on “Community College Pathways: Improving the U.S. Physician Workforce.” He is the co-founder of MiMentor.org, a national on-line mentoring community for current and aspiring health care professionals. Dr. Talamantes leads various mentoring and research initiatives throughout the country to enhance leadership and diversity in the healthcare workforce.

Our Team