Lilian G. Perez, PhD, MPH

Research Scientist

Education:

2017 – PhD, Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health, University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University
2017 – MPH, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
2007 – BA, Wellesley College

Professional affiliations:

Cancer Prevention Fellow of the National Cancer Institute, 2017-2019;
Inclusivity for Impact, Equity, and Engagement Scholar of the American Psychosomatic Society, 2024;
Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 2023 – present 

Lilian Perez joined MAPRI as a research scientist in September 2025. She is a trained public health professional with experience leading research to advance population health, organizational policy and practice, and multilevel approaches. Prior to joining MAPRI, Dr. Perez served as a Program Officer at the Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Before NIH, she was a Health Policy Researcher at RAND, where she led a diverse research portfolio, largely funded by the NIH, applying implementation science, epidemiology, and intervention research methods to a range of topics, such as physical activity, hypertension, substance use, mental health, vaccinations, and health communication

Research interests:

Cancer treatment and prevention, social needs, neighborhood environments, health equity, community-partnered research, epidemiology, interventions, implementation science

For a full list of publications, please see Dr. Lilian G. Perez’s Curriculum Vitae