Biography
Dr. Melody Avila, DNP, RN, FNP-C, is a Clinician Educator, Assistant Professor for the University of New Mexico, College of Nursing. She serves as a Family Nurse Practitioner for the UNM ADOBE program, focusing on adolescent health and mental well-being. As a native New Mexican, Dr. Avila is deeply committed to delivering high-quality care to underserved and rural communities. She spent several years in Northern New Mexico at El Centro Family Health, working as a Family Nurse Practitioner across two school-based health centers and a family practice clinic. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Alliance for School-Based Health Care. Within her role at ADOBE, she has served as the Principal Investigator for a project called "ADOBE Portal" and is a contributor to the Accelerating Child Health Transformation (ACHT) initiative, supported by the Center for Health Care Strategies and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In her dual capacity as an educator and clinician, Dr. Avila aims to offer holistic and inclusive care, focusing on preventative medicine, mental well-being, gender-diverse care, substance use disorder treatment, and an evidence-informed approach to managing chronic conditions.
Dr. Avila earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice and Master of Science in Nursing from the University of South Alabama, and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of New Mexico. Her doctoral project centered on preventing risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus in an at-risk adolescent population.
Areas of Specialty
American Indian/ Alaska Native Health | Behavioral Health | Community Health | Family-Centered Care | Holistic Nursing | Leadership/Leadership Development | Migrant Health | Minority Health | Nurse Education | Nutrition | Obesity/Weight Management | Pediatrics | Pharmacology | Primary Care | Psych-Mental Health | Reproductive Health | Rural Health | Sexually Transmitted Disease | Substance Abuse | Trauma | Underserved Populations | Women's Health
Education
DNP, University of South Alabama, 2017 (Nursing)
MSN, University of South Alabama, 2015 (Nursing)
BSN, The University of New Mexico, 2013 (Nursing)
Certifications
RN: Registered Nurse
CFNP: Certified Family Nurse Practitioner
Achievements & Awards
Award Title: Academic Faculty Scholars Program
Organization: UNM HSC, Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
HRSA Grant Number: 1 D34HP45723-01-00
Project Title: " Understanding Resilience in Youth in Protective Services - Research Award"
Principal investigator: Melody Avila, DNP, FNP-C
Funding organization: Sigma Theta Tau International Gamma Sigma Chapter
Total Award anticipated for funded periods $1,200
Project Title: " WeR1: Transforming Health Services for Youth in Protective Services: An Integrated Family Navigation Model"
Principal investigator: Monique Rodriguez, PhD
Funding organization: University of New Mexico
Total Award anticipated for funded periods $5,000
Project Title: "Community Partnership- Advisory Group "
Principal investigator: Chloe Stoffel, MD
Funding organization: ACTH funds for Phase II of the pilot project
Total Award anticipated for funded periods $65,000
Project Title: "UNM ADOBE Portal "
Principal investigator: Melody Avila, DNP, FNP-C
Funding organization: UNM TREE Center
NIH Grant Number: 5U54MD004811-10
Total Award anticipated for funded periods $50,000
Key Publications
Journal Article
Hartson , Kimberly , R Avila , Melody , Gance-Cleveland, Bonnie, Harpin, Scott, Tigges, Beth, Cook, Paul, Predictors of Physical Activity in a Predominantly Hispanic Sample of Adolescents Western Journal of Nursing Research
Journal Article
Lovato, T., Sensibaugh, C., Swingle, K., Martinez, Melody, M. Cripps, R., 2015 The drosophila transcription factors tinman and pannier activate and collaborate with myocyte enhancer factor-2 to promote heart cell fate PLOS One, vol. 10, Issue 7
Gender
Female
Languages
- Spanish
Courses Taught
N526 Advance Pathophysiology
N527 Pathophysiology, Physical Assessment, and Pharmacology in Nursing Education
N535 Primary Care of Adults I
N538 Case Studies in Diagnostic Reasoning
N539 Advance Pediatric Health and Developmental Assessment
N540 Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning
N542 Primary Care Pediatrics I
N543 Pharmacological Principles of Clinical Therapeutics
N546 Primary Care Pediatrics II
N547 Pediatric Chronic Illness- Special Needs
N549 Adolescent Health
N501 Theoretical Foundations of Advanced Nursing
N591 Graduate Problems
N593 Clinical Enrichment
N708 Evidence-Informed Practice and Scholarship
N795 Advance Nursing Practice Residency
N797 DNP Scholarly Project
Research and Scholarship
Publications:
Avila, M., & Evans, M. (2021). Mental Health. In Primary Care Pediatrics for the Nurse Practitioner. New York, NU. Springer Publishing Company
Hartson, K., Avila, M., Gance-Cleveland, B., Harpin, S., Tigges, B., Cook, P. (2019). The Theory of Planned Behavior and Mindfulness to Predict Physical Activity in a Predominantly Hispanic Sample of High School Aged Adolescents. West J Nurs Res. 2019 Sep 26
Lovato , T., Sensibaugh, C., Swingle, K., Martinez, M., & Cripps, R. (2015). The drosophila transcription factors tinman and pannier activate and collaborate with myocyte enhancer factor-2 to promote heart cell fate. PLOS One. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132965
Presentations:
Rodriguez, M. and Avila, M. (2022). A community navigation model to understand adverse childhood experiences and resilience among latinx youth in protective services [Poster Presentation]. 2022 National Latinx Psychological Association’s Conference, Denver, CO
Avila, M. (2022). Discovering strength: Application of resiliency to mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experience in adolescents [Conference Presentation]. 2022 AANP National Conference, Orlando, Fl
Avila, M. (2022). Interprofessional seminar for learners - team-based care of underserved populations [Panel Presentation]. SOM Rural and Urban Underserved Program (R.U.U.P), Albuquerque, NM
Avila, M. (2021). Nutrition and BMI [Speaker Series]. TeleHealth ECHO for School Based Health Centers, Albuquerque, NM
Avila, M. and Shannon, T. (2021). Discovering strength: Using resiliency to mitigate the impact of adverse child experiences in adolescents [Conference Presentation]. 2021 Nat’l DNP Conference, Chicago, IL
Avila, M. and Dickson, E. (2021). Empowering youth: Research and scholarship supporting adolescent health[Speaker Series]. UNM CON Scholarship & Research Speaker Series, Albuquerque, NM
Avila, M., and Hsi, A. (2020). The ADOBE program: Model program to reduce health risks from adverse childhood events for youths released from incarceration [Conference Presentation]. 2020 NMNPC Fall Online Mini Conference!, Albuquerque, NM.
Avila, M., Castro, E., and Dwarakanath, M. (2020). ADOBE (averting disparities in outcomes by building engagement) program [Speaker Series]. Pediatric Research Forum, Albuquerque, NM.
Avila, M., Hall, T., and Cogil, C. (2020). Kids & concussions [Conference Presentation]. NMNPC 2020 Virtual Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
Avila, M., Hall, T., and Cogil, C. (2019). Ears & dental presentation for Albuquerque public school nurses [Conference Presentation]. Annual APS School Nurse Workshop on Common Health Issues, Albuquerque, NM.
Avila, M., Steadman, S., His, A., Davis, G., Castro, E., McDonald, M., Lucero, A. (2019). Interprofessional education (IPE) and Medical-Legal Alliance (MLA) [Panel Presentation]. Values, Ethics, and Shared Discussions Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
Hartson, K., Avila, M., and Cook, P. (2019). Predictors of physical activity among a predominantly Hispanic sample of high school aged adolescents [Conference Presentation]. Midwest Nursing Research Society Conference, Kansas City, MO.
Rogers, H., and Avila, M. (2019). Adolescent health, well-being, and resilience [Conference Presentation]. 7th Annual UNM Pediatric Potpourri, Albuquerque, NM.