Allana T. Forde, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator, NIH Distinguished Scholar
Division of Intramural Research
allana.forde@nih.gov
301-480-3158

Dr. Allana T. Forde is a Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator and an NIH Distinguished Scholar in the Division of Intramural Research of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). Her research focuses on the stressors that are more frequently experienced by racial and ethnic minority populations and how these stressors impact health and health disparities.

Dr. Forde is particularly interested in examining how stressors contribute to cardiovascular disease and risk factors for cardiovascular disease among African American, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latinx populations. Her research also explores the heterogeneity within and between racial and ethnic minority groups to identify protective and adaptive factors that may explain why certain groups do not develop the adverse health outcomes arising from stress. An extension of her research includes exploring biomarkers of stress, accelerated aging and epigenetic changes.

Prior to joining NIMHD, Dr. Forde was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Urban Health Collaborative at Drexel University. During her fellowship, she was awarded a research grant from the American Heart Association and was selected to participate in the NHLBI Saunders-Watkins Leadership Workshop for early career investigators who are committed to the field of implementation research for health equity.

Dr. Forde received a B.A. in child development and community health from Tufts University, an M.P.H. in epidemiology from George Washington University, and a Ph.D. in epidemiology from Columbia University.

Selected Publications

• Forde, A. T., Sims, M., Muntner, P., Lewis, T., Onwuka, A., Moore, K., & Diez Roux, A. V. (2020). Discrimination and Hypertension Risk Among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study. Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979), 76(3), 715–723. https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.119.14492
• Forde, A. T., Crookes, D. M., Suglia, S. F., & Demmer, R. T. (2019). The weathering hypothesis as an explanation for racial disparities in health: a systematic review. Annals of epidemiology, 33, 1–18.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2019.02.011
• Neugebauer, R., Forde, A. T., Fodor, K. E., Fisher, P. W., Turner, J. B., Stehling-Ariza, T., & Yamabe, S. (2018). Are Children or Adolescents More at Risk for Posttraumatic Stress Reactions Following Exposure to Violence?: Evidence From Post-Genocide Rwanda. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 206(1), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000582
• Suglia, S. F., Pamplin, J. R., 2nd, Forde, A. T., & Shelton, R. C. (2017). Sex differences in the association between perceived stress and adiposity in a nationally representative sample. Annals of epidemiology, 27(10), 626–631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2017.09.009
• Glover, L. M., Butler-Williams, C., Cain-Shields, L., Forde, A. T., Purnell, T. S., Young, B., & Sims, M. (2020). Optimism is associated with chronic kidney disease and rapid kidney function decline among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study. Journal of psychosomatic research, 139, 110267. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.110267

Page updated Dec. 18, 2023