After earning her PhD in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Arizona, Dr. Yellowhair completed a post-doctoral fellowship in cancer biology working with Patricia Thompson and Peter Lance at the Cancer Center from 2011 to 2016. Monica served the center as an assistant research scientist before joining the center's Community Outreach and Engagement team in 2018 and assuming the role of director of Outreach and Tribal Relations in June of 2020. She took on the role of assistant director of COE in 2021, and served as interim director of COE from September 2023 to April 2025. She was appointed Assistant Director of Native American Partnerships in December of 2025 as part of the center's office of administration.

Dr. Yellowhair has been instrumental in establishing and maintaining relationships with the diverse Native American communities living in the Cancer Center’s catchment area and led the planning of Screening to Follow Up: Cancer Prevention in Indigenous Communities, a national conference hosted by UACC in Nov. 2022. She was also a major contributor to launching the ROSA program and its Scientific Café series as well as administering the Community Assessment of Southern Arizona. Dr. Yellowhair was instrumental in UACC outreach efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and launched the UACC COE’s Let’s Taco ‘Bout Cancer! (LTBC) series.

Additional efforts included facilitating the donation of over 6,500 face masks to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Tohono O’odham Nation. In partnership with the Arizona Department of Health Services, Dr. Yellowhair and the COE team relaunched the “Beyond Cancer” conference series aimed to increase quality of life for cancer survivors and caregivers, as part of the five-year state cancer plan.

Cancer Focus