Dr. Afable is a population health researcher who applies social theory and epidemiological methods to the study of health behaviors and chronic disease risk with a particular focus on immigrant populations to the US. Her current research follows two directions. First, building on the unique and dynamic aspects of immigrant populations in the US, her research focuses on understanding and documenting how migration and chronic exposure to US environment influences the development of obesity and diabetes in US immigrants. It relies on two primary methods to study this question: 1) secondary analyses of existing cohort and cross-sectional studies, using immigrant generation, age at migration and years in the US as primary explanatory variables; and 2) a proposed bi-national prospective cohort study of new Filipino immigrants to the US and their siblings back home, followed at regular intervals, allowing the study of adaptation to US society over time. Second, she aspires to building an evidence base that can inform the translation of obesity and diabetes prevention programs, previously demonstrated to be efficacious in clinical trials, to high-risk, under-served and/or working class populations. Dr. Afable has a rich experience partnering with the community on health promotion, working primarily with agencies serving low-income immigrant populations.
