About Olivia
Dr. Olivia Affuso, FACSM is the newly appointed Director of Strategic Leadership Initiatives at the Council on Black Health, formerly the African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network. Prior to the Council, Dr. Affuso was a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is also a Senior Research Scientist with the Gramercy Research Group.
Dr. Affuso previously served as co-Director of the Investigator Development Core for the UAB Obesity Health Disparities Research Center. In addition to having served as an advisor for various organizations, Dr. Affuso is the proud recipient of research funding from a variety of funders including the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. She has been featured on globally recognized platforms such as TED, Disney+, and PBS. Outside of academic engagement, you can find Dr. Affuso serving as an ambassador for Ultrarunning Magazine and Altrarunning, supporting girls through her role with the Grassroots Community Foundation, and maintaining her 4+ year streak of running at least one mile every day.
She obtained her PhD in Nutrition Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences at the University of Miami.
Current Work + Life
Previous Work
UAB School of Public Health - Department of Epidemiology
Prior to her current work, she was a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and an Associate Scientist in the UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center and the Center for Exercise Medicine. Her research focused on the prevention of obesity and chronic disease through physical activity, body composition methods development, and the design of obesity randomized controlled trials. Her research projects as principal investigator included the examination of potential mechanisms of group engagement on sustainable physical activity among African American women and the development of a novel photographic method for measuring body composition. She also conducted several community-based pediatric obesity intervention trials. Read more about her scientific publications.
Community Work
The Council on Black Health (the Council) - is a research and action network that provides thought leadership to develop and implement a national agenda for Black health. The Council drives the agenda to realize healthy Black communities by impacting individual behaviors, social and political determinants of health, and chronic disease outcomes through our focus on partnerships, problem-solving (research), policy, and permanence.
Grassroots Community Foundation - We support, develop and scale health and wellness programs for women and girls, particularly those who are impoverished. Consider an investment!
Black Girls Run! Birmingham - The mission of Black Girls RUN! is to encourage African-American women to make fitness and healthy living a priority.