Aubrey Van Kirk Villalobos, DrPH, MEd

Aubrey Villalobos, DrPH, MEd, is a Program Director in the Health Systems and Interventions Research Branch of the of the Healthcare Delivery Research Program. She brings expertise in applied social and behavioral science for health promotion and her scientific interests center on improving public health outcomes related to cancer prevention, early detection, and survivorship. Dr. Villalobos manages a portfolio of grants related to cancer screening, financial hardship and patient navigation, multi-level and bundled interventions, implementation science, and engaged research.

Dr. Villalobos also serves on the Implementation Science (IS) team collaborating with colleagues on division, institute, and NIH-wide efforts to advance the science of implementation. In this role, she lead efforts to advance the involvement of practitioners in IS to improve the uptake of evidence-based guidelines and interventions for cancer control in public health and clinical practice. She also cultivates research-practice partnerships through participation in the Comprehensive Cancer Control National Partnership, Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network, and the Consortium for Cancer Implementation Science, serves on the Healthy People 2030 cancer workgroup, and helps lead NCI’s Evidence Based Cancer Control Programs website.

Prior to joining the NCI in January 2021, Dr. Villalobos served as director of cancer control and health equity at the George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center where she supported strategic planning for the center’s community outreach and engagement activities and directed a multi-million-dollar portfolio of sponsored projects providing technical assistance and training to public health and health care professionals. Previously, she served as the cancer education outreach coordinator in the international outreach program at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Dr. Villalobos received a Doctor of Public Health in health behavior from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she also earned a Master of Public Health in health promotion. She holds a Master of Education from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN and a Bachelor of Science in biological chemistry from Bates College in Lewiston, ME.