Allana T. Forde, Ph.D., M.P.H., FAHA
Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator
Stressors and Health Disparities Lab
Dr. Allana T. Forde staff profile | Lab members
Scientific Expertise
Epidemiology, health disparities, mechanisms, resilience, stressors
Research and Programmatic Interests
The program conducts epidemiologic research studies (quantitative, qualitative) that focus on stressors that are experienced by different populations and the impact that these stressors have on health disparities.
Specifically, Dr. Forde aims to reduce/eliminate health disparities by exploring heterogeneity in the experiences of various stressors among different populations to better understand the:
- Impact of stressors on cardiovascular risk, morbidity, and mortality
- Psychological, behavioral, and biological mechanisms through which stressors impact cardiovascular health
- Protective and adaptive factors that could inform interventions
Research Projects
Selected Publicly Available Secondary Data Sources From Publications in the Race-Related Stressors and Health Disparities Research Laboratory
Jackson Heart Study
The Jackson Heart Study (JHS) is the largest single-site, prospective, epidemiologic investigation of cardiovascular disease among African American adults. In addition, the JHS is the largest study to examine the environmental, social, and inherited (genetic) factors associated with diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and other health outcomes impacting the African American population.
Dr. Forde serves on the leadership team for the Social Determinants of Health Working Group, which is one of the many working groups established to facilitate manuscript development, mentoring, and research collaborations contributing to the aims of JHS.
Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) is a medical research study of subclinical cardiovascular disease (i.e., disease detected non-invasively prior to clinical signs and symptoms) and the risk factors that predict progression to clinically overt cardiovascular disease or progression of subclinical disease.
MESA researchers recruited a population-based sample of asymptomatic White, African American, Hispanic, and Asian adults from six communities in the United States (New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Winston Salem).
Health and Retirement Study
The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is a longitudinal panel study of aging that was designed to explore the changes in labor force participation and the health transitions that individuals undergo toward the end of their work lives and in the years after. HRS collects multidisciplinary survey data including, but not limited to, discrimination, coping, disability, cognitive function, and physical health among a representative sample of older adults in the United States.