Biography
Dr. Parada is a Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of New Mexico and serves as Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics. She is Executive Director of the Center for Inclusive Health and Medical Director for both the Long COVID Clinic and Mobile Medical Team (Street Medicine), leading UNM School of Medicine’s commitment to enhance its visibility and services for those in need.
She serves on both local and state levels: for the UNM Health and Health Sciences communities, directing Ambulatory Quality Improvement, previously serving as Chief of Staff for UNM Hospitals and Clinics, and currently, serving on the UNMH Board of Trustees. In addition, she represents the state as the Governor of the New Mexico Chapter of the American College of Physicians.
Dr. Parada earned her MD from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at UNM. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and has received numerous awards for clinical excellence and leadership, including the Greater Albuquerque Medical Association Patient Impact Award.
She is the co-medical director for the New Mexico Post-COVID primary care ECHO session and serves as a facilitator and content expert.
Personal Statement
I have spent my entire professional career at The University of New Mexico’s School of Medicine, from a medical student to SOM ’08 graduate, through residency at UNM Hospital, and as chief of UNM’s Division of General Internal Medicine since 2020. My clinical and research interests focus on innovative approaches to increasing access to care, ambulatory quality improvement, post-acute COVID-19 syndromes, and health equity for underserved populations. I have published in peer-reviewed journals such as JMIR Public Health and Surveillance and Frontiers in Neuroscience and have presented nationally on innovative care models and post-COVID management.
Areas of Specialty
Internal Medicine
Long Covid
Primary Care
Geriatrics
Education
B.S. Agricultural Biology (2001) - New Mexico State University
MD (2008) - University of New Mexico
Internal Medicine Residency - University of New Mexico.
Certifications
New Mexico (MD 2011 - 0258), New Mexico Medical Board. (May 2011 - Present).
American Board of Internal Medicine (participating in ABIM LKA).
Integrative Medicine in Residency, Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine (2012)
Advanced Diplomat, American Academy of Pain Management (2014 - 2018)
Achievements & Awards
Patient Impact Award, Greater Albuquerque Medical Association. (April 2024).
Outstanding COVID hero UNM PCP, UNM Division of Hospital Medicine. (December 2022).
Dynamic Dyad Award, UNMH Hospitals and Clinics. (2021).
Dynamic Dyad Award, UNMH Hospitals and Clinics. (2018).
PA/Physician Team of the Year, New Mexico Academy of Physician Assistants. (September 2017).
Early career physician leadership award, New Mexico American College of Physicians. (November 2015).
Fellow, American College of Physicians. (January 2015).
UNM Department of General Internal Medicine Leadership Award, UNM Department of General Internal Medicine. (July 2013).
Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research
Parada, A., "Post-COVID for Primary Care TeleECHO," Sponsored by UNM Project ECHO- HRSA, Federal. (December 2021 - present).
Parada, A., "NIH RECOVER: A multi-site observational study of Post Acute Sequale of SARS," Sponsored by NHLBI Subaward from University of Utah/NYU. (December 2021 - May 2025).
Parada, A., "Cognitive Sequelae of Cerebrovascular and Gut Dysfunction in Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome."
Parada, A., "Mobile Services for Persons Experiencing Homelessness-High Impact Demonstration Project," Sponsored by New Mexico Department of Health, State, $250,000.00.
Research and Scholarship
1. Sood, A., “Cotton” Jarrell, W., Shore, X. W., Sosa, N., Parada, A., Edwardson, N., Yingling, A. V., Amirkabirian, T., Cheng, Q., Hurwitz, I., Cook, L. S., Leng, S., Myers, O. B., Perkins, D. J. (2025). Effectiveness of Frequent Point-of-Care Molecular COVID-19 Surveillance in a Rural Workplace: Nonrandomized Controlled Clinical Trial Among Miners. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 11, e59845-e59845. https://doi.org/10.2196/59845
2. Plummer, A., Matos, Y. L., Lin, H., Ryman, S., Birg, A., Quinn, D., Parada, A., Vakhtin, A. (2024). Gut-Brain Axis Pathogenesis of Post-Acute COVID-19 Neurocognitive Symptoms. Frontiers in Neuroscience. UNM
3. Phillips, J., Cockrell, S. A., Parada, A. (2018). Integrative Health for Women.
4. Dodd, M., Adolphe, A., Parada, A., Brett, M., Culbreath, K., Mercier, R.-C. (2018). Clinical Impact of a Rapid Streptococcal Antigen Test on Antibiotic Use in Adult Patients. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 91(4), 339-344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2018.03.018