Nationally Recognized Professors
TTUHSC El Paso Represented on National Forbes Health Advisory Board
Psychiatry professors Bharathi Gadad, Ph.D., and Aisha Shariq, M.D., selected to serve on board
Bharathi Gadad, Ph.D.
Two faculty members from the Foster School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso will help shed light on mental health as new members of the Forbes Health Advisory Board.
Forbes Health is a trusted destination for wellness insights, news and reviews, and features a wide range of health and wellness information. The Forbes Health Advisory Board is made up of board-certified, experienced clinicians, researchers and practitioners who review contributors’ articles and advise on content. As Forbes Health advisers, assistant professors Bharathi Gadad, Ph.D., and Aisha Shariq, M.D., will provide a unique perspective as specialists in a predominantly Hispanic community.
Aisha Shariq, M.D.
“Serving on this board will allow us to learn the perspectives of mental health globally and how to address some of the important public issues related to child and adult mental health,” Dr. Gadad said. “This will also be a platform to talk about mental health and lack of mental health access.”
According to the United States Census Bureau, 82.9% of the population in El Paso County identifies as Hispanic. Hispanics often face barriers to mental health care access, including cultural and language barriers, low educational and socioeconomic status, lack of insurance and stigmas about mental health.
Mental Health America reports that 18% of Hispanics in the U.S. don’t have health insurance. In 2018, 56.8% of Hispanic young adults 18 to 25 and 39.6% of adults 26 to 49 with serious mental illness didn’t receive treatment. Nationwide, nearly 25% of U.S. adults with a mental illness report an unmet need for treatment, a number that hasn’t declined since 2011. In Texas, the number of adults with any mental illness reporting an unmet need grew from 19% to 24% in 2019.
“The need for mental health resources and services is at an all-time high,” Dr. Shariq said. “We are seeing children struggle as they return to school following COVID-19, and parents are trying to manage the family.”
As TTUHSC El Paso psychiatry professors, Drs. Shariq and Gadad have experience working with the community and mentoring students at the Foster School of Medicine on mental health issues. Dr. Shariq also serves as a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso, the Foster School of Medicine’s clinical practice. Dr. Gadad’s work at TTUHSC El Paso focuses on neuroscience research, and she serves as co-director for the Southwest Brain Bank.
“We want the entire U.S. to know more about our community, and just as important, what TTUHSC El Paso is doing to foster a healthy community with healthy minds,” Dr. Shariq said.
About Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso
TTUHSC El Paso is the only health sciences center on the U.S.-Mexico border and serves 108 counties in West Texas that have been historically underserved. It is a designated Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution, preparing the next generation of health care heroes, 48% of whom identify as Hispanic and are often first-generation college students.
TTUHSC El Paso was established to focus on the unique health care and educational needs of our Borderplex community. In 2023, TTUHSC El Paso will celebrate its 10th anniversary as an autonomous university within the Texas Tech University System. In those 10 years, the university has graduated nearly 2,000 doctors, nurses and researchers, and will soon add dentists to its alumni.