H. Nelson Aguila, D.V.M., is Deputy Director of NCI’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD). In this capacity, Dr. Aguila plays a central role in coordinating the Center's day-to-day functions and developing strategic planning, priority-setting, and managing CRCHD’s disparities research, diversity training, and community education/outreach efforts. He oversees the Comprehensive Partnership to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) program. The CPACHE establishes an equal partnership between Minority Serving Institutions and NCI-designated Cancer Center to pursue cancer and cancer health disparities research, cancer research education, and outreach to underserved communities.

Previously, Dr. Aguila served as chief of CRCHD's Diversity Training Branch. Before coming to NIH, Dr. Aguila worked at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a Reviewer Toxicologist at the Center for Veterinary Medicine. Earlier in his career, Dr. Aguila held senior research scientist positions in neuropathology at the University of Miami Medical School and later in cancer gene therapy at Aventis-Gencell.

He is also the Project Scientist for the Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD). A program from the NIH Common Funds focusing on implementing and studying new approaches to increase diversity in biomedical research. Dr. Aguila is also involved in other initiatives across NCI and NIH.

Dr. Aguila earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at Austral University in Chile and trained as a neurobiologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.