Alvaro Alonso

Dr. Alonso is Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. His primary academic appointment is as Professor at the School of Medicine, University of Navarra, Spain. From 2016 to 2026, he was a faculty member at Rollins, where he held the Stephen D. Clements Jr. Chair in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention.

Dr. Alonso earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in epidemiology at the University of Navarra and later conducted postdoctoral research at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston with support from a Fulbright fellowship. He was a faculty member at the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, from 2007 to 2016 before joining Emory University.

Dr. Alonso's research focuses on the epidemiology of cardiovascular and neurological diseases. His recent work has centered on the epidemiology of atrial fibrillation and other cardiac arrhythmias, as well as on the cardiovascular determinants of cognitive decline and dementia. Through his adjunct appointment at Emory, he continues to collaborate with investigators at Rollins and across Emory on these and related areas of research.

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 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