Nicole Farmer, M.D

Dr. Farmer's research focuses on the intersection of dietary behaviors, psychosocial health, and chronic disease prevention. Her work examines how nutrition, social and environmental factors, and biological mechanisms, including microbiome metabolites and lipid metabolism, influence health outcomes. Current research includes behavioral interventions to mitigate cardiovascular disease risk, diet-based approaches to symptom management in sickle cell disease, mechanisms underlying dyslipidemia, and biobehavioral studies investigating the neural and psychological factors that shape dietary behaviors in populations at risk for chronic disease and stress-related conditions.

As a principal investigator, Dr. Farmer leads the Observational Study of Dietary Intake and Dietary Behaviors in Adults With Sickle Cell Disease (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT05170412) and Exploring a Dietary Behavior Intervention in African Americans at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: A Community Acceptability and Feasibility Study (NCT04305431), and Biobehavioral Investigations of Cooking Study (NCT pending).

She also serves as an associate investigator on several studies, including the Pathogenesis of Dyslipidemia, Mediterranean-like Unprocessed (CLEAN-MED) Diet Intervention Study of the Gut Microbiome of Healthy Adults and the INSIGHTS study (Insights Into Microbiome and Environmental Contributions to Sickle Cell Disease and Leg Ulcers Study, NHGRI). Her additional research collaborations include a pilot randomized controlled trial of a web-based behavioral sleep intervention for individuals with alcohol use disorder (18-CC-0079; NCT03493958); a multilevel, community-based physical activity intervention using mobile health technology to reduce obesity and improve cardiovascular health in resource-limited neighborhoods (17-H-0162); a longitudinal study of changes in the oral and gut microbiome of individuals with alcohol dependence (16-CC-0162; NCT02911077); and a cardiovascular health and needs assessment supporting the development of a community-based behavioral weight-loss intervention in Washington, D.C. (13-H-0183).

In addition to conducting research, Dr. Farmer is committed to strengthening the scientific and clinical workforce. She contributes through mentorship and participation in programs that introduce students to careers in science and medicine.

Dr. Farmer earned a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Doctor of Medicine from Howard University College of Medicine. Before beginning medical school, she served as a postbaccalaureate fellow in the Diabetes Branch of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. She later completed her internal medicine training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and began her academic career in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.

Dr. Farmer completed fellowship-level training in integrative medicine through the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and Duke Integrative Medicine. After several years in private practice, she joined the NIH Clinical Center as a postdoctoral fellow in health behavior and health-promotion research. She subsequently served as a staff scientist and is currently a tenure-track investigator and chief of the Dietary Behaviors and Biopsychosocial Health Section within the Translational Biobehavioral and Health Promotions Branch.

She also holds an appointment as an adjunct clinical associate professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. In 2020, Dr. Farmer received the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities William G. Coleman Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Innovation Award for her research on dietary-microbial metabolites and cardiovascular disease disparities. In 2021, she was named a Harvard Macy Institute fellow in recognition of her work incorporating the humanities into culinary medicine education and dietary behavior research. In 2024, she was named an NIH Intramural Research Distinguished Scholar.