Felipe Lobelo

Felipe Lobelo, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA, is a Tenured Associate Professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health. He also serves as faculty and in the executive commitee of Emory's Nutrition and Health Sciences Doctoral Program. Dr Lobelo is also the Program Director for Epidemiology, Public Health and Preparedness and Senior Consultant for Population Health Research in the Department of Quality and Patient Safety at The Southeast Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente Georgia.

With over two decades of experience in public health, epidemiology, and preventive medicine, Dr. Lobelo has significantly contributed to the understanding and implementation of strategies for chronic disease prevention, particularly focused on lifestyle medicine and leading initiatives to optimize population health.  

Dr. Lobelo's educational background includes an MD from Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, a specialization in Clinical Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, and a PhD in Exercise Science from the University of South Carolina. His post-doctoral training continued at the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service where he was involved in international epidemiological field investigations, having an active role in CDC's H1N1 response and serving as CDC's spokesperson for Hispanic/Latino populations. His work with H1N1 took him to the White House, where he served as the CDC representative in the first-ever Spanish Town Hall Meeting alongside President Obama and around the nation for vaccine campaign outreach events for at-risk populations and minorities. From 2010 to 2014, Dr Lobelo served in various roles as a Medical Epidemiologist at CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention in their Office of the Director and their Diabetes Translation and Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity divisions. In 2012 he was selected as Fellow of the American Heart Association and in 2020 to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Science Board. 

Dr. Lobelo is deeply involved in mentoring MPH, medical, and doctoral students while leading research projects that have garnered substantial recognition and funding. His work is characterized by a strong focus on implementation science, aiming to bridge the gap between clinical practice and public health interventions, especially among vulnerable populations. With over 140 peer-reviewed publications and numerous citations, Dr. Lobelo is a recognized expert in his field, frequently collaborating with national and international health organizations to advance public health globally.

Dr. Lobelo believes in “practicing what you preach” and strongly advocates for doctors to become healthy role models. He enjoys soccer and plays for the US Medical Soccer Team, the US representative in the Annual “World Cup for Doctors”. 

HONORS

2006 –                         Paffenbarger-Blair Award for Research on Physical Activity Epidemiology, American College of Sports Medicine

2008 –                         Doctoral Achievement Award, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina

2008 –                         Dean’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Study, The Graduate School, University of South Carolina

2008 –                         Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, Mu chapter 

2008 –                         Outstanding Doctoral Student Award, Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina

2012 –                         Fellow, American Heart Association, Council on Lifestyle and Cardio-metabolic Health

2018 -                          Emory Millipub Club

NATIONAL MEDIA & FEDERAL PUBLIC HEALTH LEADERSHIP

• CDC Spokesperson during the H1N1 pandemic; participated in the first Spanish-language White House Latino Town Hall focused on national prevention efforts in Hispanic/Latino communities.

H1N1 Pandemic – First Spanish-language White House Latino Town Hall             

• Second author of an American Heart Association scientific statement on lifestyle management of lipids and hypertension; featured in The New York Times Ask Well translating national guidance for a broad clinical audience

Can I lower my cholesterol without taking a Statin? The New York Times, September 2024

• Led development and implementation of a COVID-19 predictive “hot-spotting” analytics tool for various Kaiser Permanente market regions, providing 3–4 weeks advance warning before hospitalization surges and informing system-wide operational planning.

Making predictions during a pandemic

•National expert commentary on various infectious disease outbreaks, vaccination campaigns, maternal mortality, lifestyle and preventive medicine and public health policy (selected last 5 years)

Hantavirus Outbreak, WXIA TV, 2026

Regional health systems and dropping vaccination coverage analysis, The AJC, 2025

Infant mortality rate up in Georgia as health officials try new approaches. The AJC, 2024

Narcan FDA approval without prescription, CNN Spanish, 2023

Mpox Outbreak. Fox 5 Atlanta, 2022

Is it ok to exercise when you are sick?, American Heart Association News, 2021

COVID-19 deaths, Hospitalizations soar in Georgia, WSB-TV, 2020