Milkie Vu, PhD

Dr. Ha Ngan (Milkie) Vu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Her research focuses on developing and implementing culturally relevant, community-centered solutions to reduce disparities in cancer and chronic disease prevention, particularly among Asian American populations. Drawing on theories and methods from the social and behavioral sciences as well as implementation science, she aims to address structural and social determinants of health through community engagement and multisectoral partnerships. Her work has been supported by career development fellowships and pilot funding from the National Cancer Institute (K01, T32, F31), the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (KL2/K12), the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the American Diabetes Association. She has been recognized as an Emerging Leaders Fellow by the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable and selected to the Early-Stage Investigator Program by the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. In 2025, she was honored with the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Health Equity SIG Early Career Faculty Award. Dr. Vu earned her PhD degree in Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences from Emory University, her Master’s degree in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, and her Bachelor’s degree in History and Cultural Anthropology (with a French minor) from Duke University. She completed a T32 postdoctoral fellowship in cancer prevention and control at Northwestern University.