Álvaro  Alonso

Dr. Alonso is the Stephen D. Clements Jr. Chair in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. He earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in epidemiology at the University of Navarra, Spain, and later conducted postdoctoral research at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston supported by a Fulbright fellowship. He was faculty member at the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, between 2007 and 2016, and joined the Rollins School of Public Health in 2016. Dr. Alonso's research interests lie in the epidemiology of cardiovascular and neurological diseases. His recent work has focused on the epidemiology of atrial fibrillation and other cardiac arrhythmias, and on the cardiovascular determinants of cognitive decline and dementia.

Projects:

• The PREDIMED-Plus Study. This trial is testing the effect of a lifestyle intervention emphasizing an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet, increased physical activity and weight loss for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in overweight and obese individuals in Spain. In collaboration with Spanish colleagues, Dr. Alonso is evaluating the effect of the lifestyle intervention on cardiac structure and function and on biomarkers of cardiovascular risk.

• The Goizueta Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. The Goizueta ADRC facilitates research and education on Alzheimer's disease and other related forms of cognitive impairment. As part of his involvement in the Goizueta ADRC, Dr. Alonso participates as a co-investigator in the Emory Healthy Aging Study and Emory Healthy Brain Study.

• The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. The ARIC study is a prospective epidemiologic study in four US communities designed to investigate the causes of atherosclerosis and its clinical outcomes. Within ARIC, Dr. Alonso is involved in studies focused on the epidemiology of atrial fibrillation and its complications, as well as in the ARIC Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS), an ancillary study to ARIC aimed to understand the cardiovascular influeces to cognitive decline and dementia.

• Comparative effectiveness of anticoagulants in atrial fibrillation. Using large administrative databases , Dr. Alonso and colleagues are studying the risk and benefits of different treatments used in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Expertise:

Cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention, Neuroepidemiology