Sharma named fellow of the American Heart Association

Shreela Sharma, PhD, RDN, LD, vice chair and professor in the Department of Epidemiology at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, has been named a 2026 fellow of the American Heart Association (AHA).  

Awarded by the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health, the fellowship recognizes individuals whose research excellence, scholarship, and practice advance the association’s mission.  

Sharma was recognized for her leadership in lifestyle and cardiometabolic health research and its impact on improving public and population health.  

“It is truly an honor and a privilege to receive this recognition from the association,” Sharma stated. “I see it as a recognition of the work our team does in my research lab at the Center for Healthy Communities alongside our internal and external partners and collaborators, especially around Food Is Medicine and cardiometabolic health.” 

As director of the Center for Healthy Communities, Sharma leads interdisciplinary, community-engaged research focused on nutrition, physical activity, chronic disease prevention, and improving health outcomes. Her work explores how access to healthy food can be integrated into health care systems to prevent and manage chronic diseases, where she has partnered with various programs to reach communities across the Houston metropolitan area. 

Central to her research is the growing Food Is Medicine movement, which recognizes nutritious food as an important component of healthcare. The initiative focuses on preventing and managing chronic disease through healthy eating while supporting organizations interested in implementing Food Is Medicine programs and evaluating policies that promote long-term sustainability. 

“The research questions we ask in our lab are: How can we co-create effective and sustainable solutions to address access to healthy food and diet quality to improve health outcomes among Americans? And can healthy food be a covered medical benefit under our insurance plans?” Sharma stated.  

For several years, Sharma and her collaborators have partnered with the AHA’s Healthcare X Food initiative to strengthen research capacity within the national Food Is Medicine ecosystem. Their work helps generate evidence on the outcomes and cost-effectiveness of programs that connect patients with healthy foods through health care systems.  

“We see a world in which someone with diabetes can not only get a prescription for their medication, but also a prescription for healthy food that they could redeem at a food ‘farmacy,’” Sharma said.  

The fellowship recognizes Sharma’s sustained commitment to advancing research and community-based solutions to improve cardiometabolic health and expand access to healthy food as a pathway to better health. 

“This honor is also a recognition of the importance of food and its relationship to health,” Sharma said. “It is going to take all of us coming together to prioritize healthy food as part of caring for our patients and communities, and we remain committed to fostering those partnerships and collaborations.”