By Catherine Wu, Global Health Communications Assistant

Stanford psychiatry resident Dr. Gabriela Asturias, MD, was recently named Personaje del Año (Person of the Year) by Prensa Libre, Guatemala’s newspaper of record, for her contributions to reducing gaps in Guatemalans’ access to essential health information, services, and guidance.

This recognition is awarded each year to a Guatemalan individual or collective whose actions have had a significant and tangible impact on the country’s social, cultural, or institutional landscape.

“Personally, it’s meaningful to represent Guatemala and to see public health and mental health elevated in a national conversation,” Asturias said, reflecting on the honor. “Professionally, it reinforces that investing in systems that expand access to care, especially for those who have historically been left out, is both urgent and possible.”

Growing up in Guatemala, Asturias moved to the U.S. in 2013, where she studied neuroscience at Duke University and completed her medical degree at Stanford. In 2015, Asturias co-founded Fundación Desarrolla Guatemala para la Educación y Salud (FUNDEGUA), a Guatemalan foundation dedicated to scientific research, inclusive technology, and innovative health solutions, in collaboration with local and international institutions.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Asturias leveraged FUNDEGUA’s platform to create a digital telehealth system, Asistente de Logística Médica Automatizada (ALMA), as a rapid response tool to address misinformation related to the outbreak. 

Since then, what started as a COVID-specific project has evolved into an everyday health tool, used by over three million Guatemalans, to answer clinical questions, understand diagnoses, prevent illnesses, and decide when to seek medical care. 

“Today, it connects millions of people in Guatemala to health information, services, and guidance across conditions, not just COVID. We’ve expanded into areas like mental health, chronic disease, and system navigation, and we’ve built tools for both patients and healthcare workers,” Asturias said.

ALMA, a free chatbot and information platform, features directories of healthcare providers, labs, pharmacies, and hospitals, while answering common health questions with vetted resources. Her team focuses on integrating with public health systems in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to ensure that ALMA “is not a parallel solution but something that strengthens national capacity,” she said.

“It’s an incredible honor, and at the same time, it feels deeply collective,” Asturias said. “This recognition reflects the work of so many people, teams, partners, institutions, and communities who have been building this together over many years… None of this would be possible without a multidisciplinary team of engineers, clinicians, public health experts, community workers, and strong institutional partnerships.”

Moving forward, Asturias hopes the recognition will sharpen the focus of ALMA’s scale and sustainability, and position the importance of including mental health services in the public health system.

“Recognition brings visibility, but more importantly, it creates an opportunity to align more stakeholders around a shared goal of building a mental health and public health system that truly works for people,” Asturias said. 

She is excited about strengthening integration into primary care, as well as continuing collaborations with global institutions, including Stanford. “This is not about a single platform, it is about strengthening an ecosystem,” she said.

Asturias shared advice for others who want to make similar impacts in their communities: “Stay grounded in who you serve. For me, the constant source of inspiration is the people in Guatemala, and staying close to that helps guide every decision.”