UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Public health scholar, researcher, advocate, and leader
I use public health and implementation science frameworks to generate evidence that reshapes health systems and strengthens the public health infrastructure, centering the needs of underserved and marginalized communities at every level.
I am a Latino, first-generation scholar and public health leader whose commitment to health equity was shaped on the frontlines of practice before it was formalized through research. More than a decade of work alongside Black, Latino, and LGBTQ+ communities, first as a practitioner and now as a scientist, has shaped how I frame research questions, design community-centered studies, and define the role of evidence in advancing equitable public health action.
My research agenda focuses on HIV prevention, sexual and gender minority health, and the design of interventions that are acceptable, feasible, and responsive to the needs of communities disproportionately affected by HIV. I am especially interested in generating evidence that can inform policy and strengthen real-world programs serving historically underserved populations. My dissertation contributes to this agenda by examining the acceptability of cash transfer programs as an HIV prevention strategy among Black and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) in Los Angeles County.
Before doctoral training, I spent seven years at the Center for Public Health Research (CPHR) at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, one of the largest and most complex local health departments in the United States. I began as a Research Associate on the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (MSM & People Who Inject Drugs) Study Cycles before advancing to serve as a Digital HIV Care Navigator and Project Coordinator on Health eNavigation, an HRSA-funded study where I served as the primary interventionist on a digital HIV care navigation system for young people living with HIV in San Francisco. I later advanced to Acting Project Director, where I directed three federally funded HIV prevention and surveillance studies, overseeing a total of 10 staff across projects, responsible for hiring, interviewing, and extending offers, and served as the sole operational liaison to CDC and NIH program officers. That progression, from frontline worker to project director at a nationally recognized public health institution, shaped how I think about research, leadership, and the conditions required to make public health systems actually work.
I am a mission-oriented and data-driven leader who thrives in fast-paced environments and brings creative and independent thinking to complex public health challenges. Beyond the dissertation, I am developing a research agenda on burnout prevention among the public health workforce, aiming to generate evidence on sustainable and feasible strategies for a segment of our workforce that is often overlooked in burnout prevention efforts. In my day-to-day research practice, I use AI as a collaborative tool for literature synthesis, scientific writing, and translating complex public health science for broad audiences, an approach that informs my emerging interest in evaluating how AI-enabled tools can strengthen public health systems.
Research
Dissertation · 2026
"Cashing in on HIV Prevention: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study Assessing the Preferences and Acceptability of Conditional Cash Transfers Among Black and Latino Men Who Have Sex With Men in Los Angeles County"
An exploratory mixed methods study finding that cash transfer programs are an acceptable HIV prevention strategy for Black and Latino men who have sex with men in Los Angeles County. These findings contribute to the evidence base for using cash transfers to reduce HIV transmission among communities at greatest risk.
Emerging Research Area
Burnout Prevention Among the Public Health Workforce
Burnout among public health and HIV frontline workers remains critically understudied. This developing research agenda aims to generate evidence on sustainable and feasible strategies to support the workforce that makes the public health system run.
Emerging Research Area
AI, Digital Health Tools, and Public Health Infrastructure
I am developing a research interest in evaluating AI-enabled tools, including large language models (LLMs) and digital health technologies, and their capacity to strengthen public health surveillance, data infrastructure, and health systems. Within this, I am interested in shaping and safeguarding the ethical use of AI in healthcare, and in understanding how emerging technologies affect health, behavior, and society, particularly for communities most vulnerable to both the promises and the harms of rapid technological change.
Publications
Selected publications. First-authored papers denoted in color.
Preferences for HIV prevention conditional cash transfer programs among Black/African American and Latinx cisgender MSM in Los Angeles.
AIDS. 2025. doi:10.1097/QAD.0000000000004361
Use of and Attitudes Toward Technology Among Young People Living With HIV in San Francisco: Cross-Sectional Study.
JMIR Formative Research. 2025. doi:10.2196/81845
High interest for long-acting injectable PrEP among Men who have Sex with Men at most risk for HIV in San Francisco, 2021.
Sexual Health. 2024. doi:10.1071/SH23085
Transgender Women Experiencing Homelessness, National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Among Transgender Women, Seven Urban Areas, United States, 2019–2020.
MMWR Supplements. 2024. doi:10.15585/mmwr.su7301a5
Areas of Practice
Community
My work is grounded in the communities I serve. For over a decade I have worked alongside Black, Latino, and LGBTQ+ communities in San Francisco and Los Angeles, building trust, designing programs, and advocating for health systems that are responsive to the people they are meant to serve.
Research
I design and conduct rigorous public health research on HIV prevention, health equity, and intervention design. My work integrates qualitative and quantitative methods to generate actionable evidence that informs policy and practice. I use AI tools daily to synthesize literature, support scientific writing, and communicate complex findings to broad audiences. I also serve as a member of the UCLA Community Health Sciences AI Committee, contributing to the development of guiding principles for the ethical and equitable use of AI in public health research and education.
Digital Health & AI
I am committed to shaping how AI and digital health tools are designed, evaluated, and deployed in public health contexts. My experience developing and evaluating digital health interventions at the San Francisco Department of Public Health demonstrated how large public health systems can leverage technology to improve health outcomes for underserved communities. I bring a public health equity lens to questions of AI governance, data infrastructure, and the responsible use of emerging technologies, particularly for communities whose languages, knowledge systems, and ways of knowing are underrepresented in the data that trains these tools.
Background
Education & Training
2026
PhD, Community Health Sciences
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health · Los Angeles, CA
Doctoral Minor in Social Welfare
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
2019
MPH, Health & Social Behavior
UC Berkeley School of Public Health · Berkeley, CA
Capstone: To the Finish Line & Beyond: Understanding the Factors Leading to Burnout among HIV Care Navigators. Advisor: Dr. Mark Fleming.
2014
BA, Community Health
New Mexico State University · Las Cruces, NM
College of Health, Education, and Social Transformation · Department of Public Health Sciences.
Teaching Experience
2026
Teaching Associate
CHS 216: Qualitative Research: Design and Data Collection · UCLA
Required qualitative research methodology seminar for the MPH for Health Professionals program.
2025 – 2026
Teaching Consultant
PH 50 A & B: Fundamentals of Public Health · UCLA
Required undergraduate series for public health majors.
2024 – 2025
Graduate Student Instructor
UCLA Public Health Scholars Program Seminar
CDC John R. Lewis Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program.
2024
Teaching Assistant
CHS 211 A & B: Program Planning, Research & Evaluation · UCLA
Required graduate course in Community Health Sciences.
Research Experience
2022 – 2026
Study Coordinator, TIPS Study
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health · Los Angeles, CA
Sole graduate researcher on the NIMH-funded Incentives and Prevention Study. Led protocol development, IRB compliance, and data collection. Recruited 133 participants and conducted 20 qualitative in-depth interviews. Produced all analytic codebooks, do-files, and research logbooks. Resulting in 1 peer-reviewed publication.
2024
Graduate Student Researcher, Initiative to Study Hate
UCLA · California Civil Rights Department
Conducted a systematic review of 45 peer-reviewed studies on mental health interventions for hate crime survivors. Produced a 16-page literature review identifying mechanisms of action and critical research gaps for policy and program development.
2022
Community Health Consultant, Project REFOCUS
Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice & Health · UCLA
Contributed to a CDC-funded data dashboard monitoring social stigma and health disparities among marginalized populations. Resulting in 1 peer-reviewed publication on COVID-19 vaccination inequities.
2019 – 2021
Acting Project Director
National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Trans & MSM Study Cycles (CDC-funded) & The Partners Study (NIH-funded) · San Francisco Department of Public Health
Directed three simultaneous federally funded HIV prevention and surveillance studies among sexual and gender minorities. Managed a 10-person field team across projects and served as sole operational liaison to CDC and NIH program officers. Contributed to 30+ peer-reviewed publications including the CDC MMWR supplement series.
2016 – 2019
Digital HIV Care Navigator & Project Coordinator
Health eNavigation Study (HRSA-funded) · Center for Public Health Research, San Francisco Department of Public Health
Coordinated day-to-day study operations and served as primary interventionist, delivering real-time text-based HIV care navigation to 120 young people living with HIV in San Francisco. Contributed to 1 first-authored and 6 co-authored peer-reviewed publications in JMIR and other high-impact journals.
2014 – 2015
Research Associate, Center for Public Health Research
San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH)
Conducted 300 structured interviews and 250 HIV tests with counseling across 20 community venues as part of the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance study.
Fellowships & Awards
California HIV/AIDS Research Program Mentored Training Program Award
California HIV/AIDS Research Program · 2026
$10,000
Celia G. and Joseph G. Blann Fellowship
Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA · 2026
$10,000
Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship
UCLA Graduate Division · 2024–2025 & 2021–2022
$30,000 + tuition & fees (2024–25) · $25,000 + tuition & fees (2021–22)
Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Award
UCLA Graduate Division · Summer 2024 & Summer 2023
$6,000 each year · Principal Investigator
Emily Dion Memorial Scholarship
UC Berkeley Graduate Division · 2017–2018
$8,000
Contact
I am actively seeking postdoctoral, faculty, and director-level opportunities at the intersection of public health research, program development, and health systems. Whether you are building a research team, launching a community health initiative, or looking for a collaborative thought partner, I would love to connect.
dillontrujillo@ucla.edu