Program Director
National Institutes of Health / NICHD
Ashley Vargas, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D.N., a registered dietitian nutritionist (R.D.N.) and molecular epidemiologist, is Program Director of Precision Nutrition and Dietetics at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Her clinical and research experience focuses on improving the precision of nutrition risk assessment and the application of nutrition therapy to individuals across their lifespan. Specifically, she has concentrated her research on the relationship between diet and disease that is mediated by the genome and the microbiome in large human cohorts.
Dr. Vargas received her doctoral degree in nutritional science from the University of Arizona, her master’s degree in public health from Harvard University, and her bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Wayne State University, where she also completed her coordinated dietetic training program. She has experience as a clinical R.D.N. in many different settings, has served in leadership roles in professional societies, and is a fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.