Margarita Alegría is Professor of Health Services Research and Director of the Center for Sociomedical Research and Evaluation at the School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico. In 1999 Dr. Alegría became the Principle Investigator of the NIMH funded Latino Research Program Project (LRPP), which focuses on research to improve the mental health care for Latino populations. She is currently involved in multi-site collaborative work on carve-outs and disparities in mental health care. Dr. Alegría has served as a consultant for the Secretary of Mental Health of Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the Development of a Strategic Plan for AIDS Prevention and in the Design of Mental Health Services. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Children's Foundation and the Felisa Rincón De Gautier Foundation. In the past, she has conducted several major studies of mental health care, consequences of drug use and HIV risk behaviors with low income populations. She collaborates with the International Consortium of Psychiatric Epidemiology, comparing cross national patterns of mental health service delivery. Her published works focus on the areas of mental health services research, conceptual and methodological issues with minority populations, and HIV risk behaviors.