Roberto Vargas, MPH | Latinx Center of Excellence

Associate Director, Community Engagement and Health Policy, UCSF Clinical & Translational Science Institute

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+1 415 514-8436

Roberto Ariel Vargas, MPH, is Associate Director for the Center for Community Engagement and Senior Staff, Community Engagement Program of UCSF’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Vargas helped shape health policy and practice at the municipal and national levels on chronic disease prevention and cancer care. He has served on the National Cancer Institute’s National Council of Research Advocates, and as chair of the board of the Central American Resource Center & the SF Sugary Drinks Distributor Tax Advisory Committee. Roberto led non-profit and school-based programs serving low-income communities of color for decades. He enjoys helping dismantle structural oppression at UCSF.

Publications

An Examination of Responses to COVID-19 Contact-Tracing Efforts in Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx Communities of Los Angeles.

Health equity

Cobb S, Schrode K, Siddiq H, Boyce S, Taylor KD, Vargas R, Harawa N

Mobilizing faith-based COVID-19 health ambassadors to address COVID-19 health disparities among African American older adults in under-resourced communities: A hybrid, community-based participatory intervention.

PloS one

Adinkrah EK, Bazargan S, Cobb S, Kibe LW, Vargas R, Waller J, Sanchez H, Bazargan M

Drink Tap: A Multisector Program to Promote Water Access and Intake in San Francisco Parks.

Preventing chronic disease

Rosenthal MD, Schmidt LA, Vargas R, Blacker LS, McCulloch CE, Ezennia J, Patel AI

COVID-19 Vaccination Perceptions Among Young Adults of Color in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Health equity

Rios-Fetchko F, Carson M, Gonzalez Ramirez M, Butler JZ, Vargas R, Cabrera A, Gallegos-Castillo A, LeSarre M, Liao M, Woo K, Ellis R, Liu K, Doyle B, Leung L, Grumbach K, Fernandez A

COVID-19 vaccination readiness among multiple racial and ethnic groups in the San Francisco Bay Area: A qualitative analysis.

PloS one

Butler JZ, Carson M, Rios-Fetchko F, Vargas R, Cabrera A, Gallegos-Castillo A, LeSarre M, Liao M, Woo K, Ellis R, Liu K, Burra A, Ramirez M, Doyle B, Leung L, Fernandez A, Grumbach K

From Cancer Epidemiology to Policy and Practice: the Role of a Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Current epidemiology reports

Hiatt RA, Sibley A, Venkatesh B, Cheng J, Dixit N, Fox R, Ling P, Nguyen T, Oh D, Palmer NR, Pasick RJ, Potter MB, Somsouk M, Vargas RA, Vijayaraghavan M, Ashworth A

Addressing racial/ethnic inequities in vaccine hesitancy and uptake: lessons learned from the California alliance against COVID-19.

Journal of behavioral medicine

AuYoung M, Rodriguez Espinosa P, Chen WT, Juturu P, Young MT, Casillas A, Adkins-Jackson P, Hopfer S, Kissam E, Alo AK, Vargas RA, Brown AF, And the STOP COVID-19 C. A. Communications Working Group

The San Francisco Cancer Initiative: A Community Effort To Reduce The Population Burden Of Cancer.

Health affairs (Project Hope)

Hiatt RA, Sibley A, Fejerman L, Glantz S, Nguyen T, Pasick R, Palmer N, Perkins A, Potter MB, Somsouk M, Vargas RA, van 't Veer LJ, Ashworth A

Reducing Cancer and Cancer Disparities: Lessons From a Youth-Generated Diabetes Prevention Campaign.

American journal of preventive medicine

Schillinger D, Ling PM, Fine S, Boyer CB, Rogers E, Vargas RA, Bibbins-Domingo K, Chou WS

Achieving Health Equity Through Community Engagement in Translating Evidence to Policy: The San Francisco Health Improvement Partnership, 2010-2016.

Preventing chronic disease

Grumbach K, Vargas RA, Fleisher P, Aragón TJ, Chung L, Chawla C, Yant A, Garcia ER, Santiago A, Lang PL, Jones P, Liu W, Schmidt LA