Angela Fernandez, Ph.D., M.P.H., LCSW

Social and Behavioral Sciences Administrator (Program Officer)
Division of Community Health and Population Science
angela.fernandez@nih.gov
240-687-3039

Dr. Angela Fernandez is a Social and Behavioral Sciences Administrator (Program Officer) in the Division of Community Health and Population Science at NIMHD.

A citizen of the Menominee Nation, Dr. Fernandez’s research has focused on community-based prevention involving protective factors, cultural practices, place, and the natural environment among primarily American Indian and Alaska Native and other Indigenous Peoples, as well as Latinx populations.

Dr. Fernandez received her Ph.D. in Social Work, Master of Public Health and Master of Social Work degrees from the University of Washington, where she also taught and worked on several NIH-funded research studies with the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. Her research experience is in the areas of HIV and sexual risk prevention, substance use disorders, obesity prevention and physical activity promotion, diabetes, cardiovascular health, and mental health and wellness.

Prior to coming to NIMHD, Dr. Fernandez worked as an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing. Dr. Fernandez is a licensed clinical social worker who has worked in inpatient, outpatient, academic and community-based settings, and has served in the Peace Corps (Costa Rica).

Selected Publications

• Fernandez, A. R., Cano, M. A., Ramirez-Ortiz, D., Garcia-Torres, M. M., Lor, M., Luebke, J. & Cordova, D. (2023). Discrimination, acculturation, and sexual risk among Latinx Emerging Adults: Examining moderation effects of family and identity. Advance online publication: Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000570
• Fernandez, A. R. & Beltran, R. E. (2022). “Wherever I go, I have it inside of me”: Indigenous cultural dance narratives as substance abuse and HIV prevention in an Urban Danza Mexica Community. Frontiers in Public Health, 21 (9), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.789865
• Fernandez, A. R., Spencer, M. S. (2020). Diabetes, mental health, and utilization of mental health professionals among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 30(1/2). https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2020.1770657. Special Issue: Mental, Physical, and Social Dimensions of Health Equity and Wellness among U.S. Indigenous: What is Known and Next Steps.
• Fernandez, A. R., Evans-Campbell, T., Johnson-Jennings, M., Beltran, R., Schultz, K., Stroud, S., & Walters, K. L. (2020). “Being on the walk put it somewhere in my body”: The meaning of place in health for Indigenous women. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 30(1/2). https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2020.1770652. Special Issue: Mental, Physical, and Social Dimensions of Health Equity and Wellness among U.S. Indigenous: What is Known and Next Steps.
• Beltran, R., Alvarez, A. R. G., Fernandez, A.R., Colon, L., & Alamillo, X. (2020). Salud, cultura, tradición: Findings from an alcohol and other drug and HIV needs assessment in urban “Mexican American Indian” communities. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 30(1/2). https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2020.1770653. Special Issue: Mental, Physical, and Social Dimensions of Health Equity and Wellness among U.S. Indigenous: What is Known and Next Steps.
• Beltran, R., Schultz, K., Fernandez, A. R., Walters, K. L., Duran, B. & Evans-Campbell, T. (2018). From ambivalence to revitalization: Negotiating cardiovascular health behaviors related to environmental and historical trauma in a Northwest American Indian community. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research (Online), 25(2), 103–128. https://doi.org/10.5820/aian.2502.2018.103

Page updated August 18, 2023