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Nakela L. Cook, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.C.
To arrange an interview, please contact the NHLBI Communications Office at 301-496-4236 or nhlbi_news@nhlbi.nih.gov.
Biography
Nakela L. Cook, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.C., is a medical officer in the Clinical Applications and Prevention Branch in the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Her work at the NHLBI involves outcomes research, epidemiology, and clinical trials. Dr. Cook’s research portfolio includes comparative effectiveness research, cardiovascular imaging, racial/ethnic and gender disparities in cardiovascular disease, and cardiovascular health services.
Dr. Cook joined the NHLBI in 2008. Prior to working at the NHLBI, Dr. Cook’s research focused on access to secondary and tertiary levels of care for patients who were seen at community health centers; referral patterns for cardiovascular care based upon gender, race/ethnicity, insurance, and site of care; and appropriate use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators by gender and race/ethnicity. She remains clinically active in general clinical cardiology at Washington Hospital Center in the District of Columbia.
Dr. Cook attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science and Engineering. She received a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School, Boston, and completed her clinical training at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston. She is board certified in internal medicine and cardiology. Dr. Cook completed a fellowship in Health Services Research at the Harvard School of Public Health. She is also an alumnus of the Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellowship in Minority Health Policy and completed her Masters of Public Health with a concentration in health care policy as part of this fellowship.
Areas of Expertise: Comparative effectiveness research, cardiovascular imaging, racial/ethnic and gender disparities in cardiovascular disease, and cardiovascular health services and outcomes research.
Dr. Cook In the News
October 23, 2012
: Miami Herald
Women need to do more to prevent cardiovascular disease
Ana Veciana-Suarez
Women across the country are helping to spread the heart truth about women’s risk of heart disease, but more action is needed to help lower risks and prevent heart disease.
October 18, 2012
: NIH Radio
The Heart Truth celebrates a decade of progress
Joe Balintfy
The NHLBI's Dr. Nakela Cook talks heart health on NIH Radio and how The Heart Truth campaign has inspired women for over a decade to protect their hearts and understand their risks for heart disease.
View all Dr. Cook in the news articles
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