Aida L. Maisonet Giachello, Ph.D. was born and raised in San Jan, Puerto Rico. She has a BA in Social Sciences (Psychology and Sociology ) from the University of Puerto Rico, A Master's Degree in Community Organizing, Social Planning and Policy from the School of Social Services Administration, University of Chicago, and a PhD in Sociology with a specialty in Health and Ethnicity, also from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Giachello is an educator, a writer, and is considered an expert on Hispanic/Latino health issues. Dr. Giachello is currently an Associate Professor at the Jane Addams College of Social Work, and she is founder and director of the Midwest Latino Health Research, Training and Policy Center. The Latino Center was established five years ago with the purpose of conducting health outcomes research, research training, technical assistance and policy in the areas of chronic conditions and maternal and child health.

Dr. Giachello has been involved in many national and local organizations. For example, she was appointed in 1993 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Louis Sullivan, to the National Advisory Committee on Bone Marrow Transplant. In 1992-93, she was a member of the National Executive Committee on Hispanic Health for the US Surgeon General, Dr. Antonia Novello. She is former Vice Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Minority Populations for the NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI); former president of the Latino Caucus of the American Public Health Association; former Chair of the Chicago Women's Commission (Mayoral Appointment). Dr. Giachello's research and policy work centers on issues of access to medical care, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, geriatrics, multicultural issues in health care, and women's health and social issues.