Fabio A. Almeida, PhD

Education

2016 - present, Associate Professor, Department of Health Promotion
2014 - 2016, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
2012 - 2016, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech
2008 - 2012, Research Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech
2003 - 2008, Research Associate, Kaiser Permanente Colorado

Research Interests

Dr. Almeida's research and professional experience, to date, have focused on seeking solutions to the growing global chronic disease epidemic in particular as it has a disproportional negative impact on the lives of those who are the most vulnerable in our societies. The ultimate goal of his work is to eliminate health disparities within chronic diseases, enhance health equity, and improve health outcomes for those who need it most in collaboration with community and practice partners by using available resources, evidence-based programs, and cost-effective strategies focusing on better health and enhanced quality of life for all.

To address these challenges, my research program concentrates on a systems approach to the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Dr. Almeida focuses on identifying the connections between systems and individuals which can create and sustain positive behavior changes associated with improved health outcomes. A systems approach explores the potential of multiple and diverse systems to influence individual choices and behaviors around physical activity, nutritional choices, and patient compliance with treatment recommendations.

This approach to program development and dissemination seeks to achieve a greater public health impact by reducing disparities while enhancing health equity. Dr. Almeida's operationalizes public health impact through the RE-AIM framework and design and disseminate programs and policies that (a) Reach a large representative sample of the target audience (in particular those most vulnerable); (b) demonstrate Effectiveness in changing individual behaviors and Maintaining those changes; (c) are easily Adopted and Implemented in a variety of settings by a variety of delivery agents with the available resources; and (d) can be Maintained at the organizational level over time. By achieving greater public health impact, programs and policies can lead to better health and enhanced quality of life for all.

Selected Publications

Zheng LD, Linarelli LE, Brooke J, Smith C, Wall SS, Greenawald MH, Seidel RW, Estabrooks PA, Almeida FA*, Cheng Z. Mitochondrial Epigenetic Changes Link to Increased Diabetes Risk and Early-Stage Prediabetes Indicator. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity 2016; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/5290638
Almeida FA, Smith-Ray RL, Dzewaltowski DA, Glasgow RE, Lee RE, Thomas DS, Xu S, Estabrooks PA. An Interactive Computer Session to Initiate Physical Activity in Sedentary Cardiac Patients: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res 2015;17(8):e206 URL: http://www.jmir.org/2015/8/e206 DOI: 10.2196/jmir.3759
Almeida, F. A., You, W., Harden, S. M., Blackman, K. C.A., Davy, B. M., Glasgow, R. E., Hill, J. L., Linnan, L. A., Wall, S. S., Yenerall, J., Zoellner, J. M. and Estabrooks, P. A. Effectiveness of a worksite-based weight loss randomized controlled trial: The worksite study. Obesity 2015; 23: 737–745. doi: 10.1002/oby.20899. PMID: 25678325.
Zheng LD, Linarelli LE, Liu L, Wall SS, Greenawald MH, Seidel RW, Estabrooks PA, Almeida FA* and Cheng Z. Insulin resistance is associated with epigenetic and genetic regulation of mitochondria in obese humans. Clinical Epigenetics 2015;7:60 doi:10.1186/s13148-015-0093-1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13148-015-0093-1
Almeida, F.A., Pardo, K.A., Seidel, R.W., Davy, B., You, W., Wall, S., Smith, E., Greenawald, M.H., and Estabrooks, PA Design and Methods of “diaBEAT-it!”: A Hybrid Preference/Randomized Control Trial Design using the RE-AIM Framework. Contemporary Clinical Trials 2014; 38(2): 383-396. DOI: 10.1016/j.cct.2014.06.010

Professional Affiliations

American Public Health Association
Society of Behavioral Medicine