Dillon Trujillo, PhD, MPH

Scholar  ·  Researcher  ·  Health Scientist

Dillon Trujillo at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

About

I am an applied community health scientist specializing in sociobehavioral research and public health intervention development. I apply health behavior and implementation science frameworks to design, test, and evaluate interventions that address the multilevel factors shaping health disparities among marginalized and minoritized populations. My research has centered on HIV prevention science, with growing interests in substance use disorders and addiction treatment, burnout prevention, and digital health interventions. I am committed to generating evidence that is rigorous, community-grounded, and actionable. Ultimately, I aim to advance the field of community health sciences while strengthening the public health infrastructure that serves communities most affected by health inequities and the frontline workforce that delivers their care.

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Emerging Research Agenda

Burnout Prevention Among the Public Health Workforce

Examining the structural and organizational conditions that contribute to occupational burnout among the public health workforce and identifying worker-driven strategies to prevent and mitigate it.

Substance Use, Addiction Treatment, and Health Disparities

Researching substance use disorder prevention and addiction treatment outcomes among underserved communities, including those with co-occurring and syndemic conditions, and addressing the structural determinants that drive these disparities.

Digital Health Interventions & AI

Developing, testing, and evaluating digital health interventions to address health disparities, with a keen interest in evaluating AI-enabled tools and their potential for health promotion, disease prevention, and strengthening the public health system.

Scholarship

Published Work

Dissertation · 2026  View Full Text

"Cashing in on HIV Prevention: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study Assessing the Preferences and Acceptability of a Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis-Based Conditional Cash Transfer among Black and Latino Men Who Have Sex with Men in Los Angeles County"

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health · Committee Chair: Dr. Michael Prelip · Defense: April 2026

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.

Mixed Methods HIV Prevention Cash Transfers Health Equity
2025

Moucheraud, C., Trujillo, D., Wagner, Z., Garland, W., Smith, T., Hoffman, RM., Landovitz, RJ.

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

2025

Arayasirikul, S., Turner C., Trujillo, D., Maycott, J.

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

2024

Hernandez, CJ., Trujillo, D., et al.

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

2024 · MMWR

Marcus, R., Trujillo, L., Olansky, E., et al., NHBS-Trans Study Group (Member).

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

2024

Nwankwo, E., Le, C., Bradford, NJ., Trujillo, D., Fletcher, AD., Ford, CL.

Contextualizing Inequities in COVID Vaccination Trends Among Project REFOCUS Pilot Sites: Racism-Related Determinants of Health.

Ethnicity & Disease. 2024;34(1):1-7. doi:10.18865/ed.34.1.1

First Author · 2022

Trujillo, D., et al.

Disparities in Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing and the Need to Strengthen Comprehensive Sexual Health Services for Trans Women.

Transgender Health. 2022. doi:10.1089/trgh.2020.0133

First Author · 2021

Trujillo, D., et al.

Brief Report: COVID-19 Symptoms, Testing, and Test Positivity Among Trans Women in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2020-2021.

Transgender Health. 2021. doi:10.1089/trgh.2021.0072

First Author · 2020

Trujillo, D., et al.

Digital HIV Care Navigation for Young People Living With HIV in San Francisco, California: Feasibility and Acceptability Study.

JMIR mHealth and uHealth. 2020. doi:10.2196/16838

View All 33 Publications

Background

Education & Experience

Academic CV

PhD, Community Health Sciences

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health · 2026

Doctoral Minor in Social Welfare, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

MPH, Health & Social Behavior

UC Berkeley School of Public Health · 2019

BA, Community Health

New Mexico State University · 2014

2026

Teaching Associate

CHS 216: Qualitative Research · UCLA

2025 – 2026

Teaching Consultant

PH 50 A & B: Fundamentals of Public Health · UCLA

2024 – 2025

Graduate Student Instructor

UCLA Public Health Scholars Program

2024

Teaching Assistant

CHS 211 A & B: Program Planning, Research & Evaluation · UCLA

2022 – 2026

Study Coordinator, The Incentives & Prevention Study (TIPS)

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

Sole graduate researcher on NIMH-funded study. Recruited 133 participants, conducted 20 qualitative in-depth interviews. 1 peer-reviewed publication.

2024

Graduate Student Researcher, Initiative to Study Hate

UCLA · California Civil Rights Department

Systematic review of 45 studies on mental health interventions for hate crime survivors. Produced 16-page policy-facing literature review.

2022

Community Health Consultant, Project REFOCUS

Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice & Health, UCLA

CDC-funded health equity data dashboard. 1 peer-reviewed publication on COVID-19 vaccination inequities.

2019 – 2021

Acting Project Director

NHBS-Trans, NHBS-MSM & The Partners Study · SFDPH

Directed 3 simultaneous federally funded studies. Responsible for hiring, interviewing, and supervising field staff. Sole liaison to CDC and NIH program officers. 30+ publications.

2016 – 2019

Digital HIV Care Navigator & Project Coordinator

Health eNavigation Study · CPHR, SFDPH

Primary interventionist on HRSA-funded digital health study. Served 120 young people living with HIV. 1 first-authored and 6 co-authored publications.

2014 – 2015

Research Associate

Center for Public Health Research, SFDPH

Conducted 300 structured interviews and 250 HIV tests across 20 community venues.

Mentored Training Award in HIV Research

California HIV/AIDS Research Program · 2026

$10,000

Dean's Outstanding Student Award

Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health · 2026

Celia G. and Joseph G. Blann Fellowship

Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA · 2026

$10,000

Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship

UCLA Graduate Division · 2021-2026

$55,000 + tuition & fees

Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Award

UCLA Graduate Division · 2023-2024

$12,000 · Principal Investigator

Minority Training Program in Cancer Control Research Traineeship

Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCSF · 2018

Contact

dillonwtrujillo@gmail.com