Paul Afek

Dr. Paul Afek is an Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the UNM School of Medicine. He also served as a clinical faculty member at the University of Arizona and holds roles at UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center, including Medical Director of Ambulatory Services. He actively precepts Family Medicine residents at the North Valley and Southeast Heights Clinics, and engages with UNM Medical Students through teaching programs like Doctoring 2 as a facilitator.

Dr. Afek earned his MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and completed a Family Medicine residency at Forbes Family Medicine in Pennsylvania. His 13-year tenure at a rural community health center near Tucson, Arizona, supported by the National Health Service Corps, underscores his dedication to underserved populations.

His research interests center on Community Health and Family Medicine, with a focus on genetic variants influencing metabolic traits such as lipid homeostasis, body-fat distribution, blood pressure, and adult height. He investigates how these genetic factors contribute to conditions like obesity and chronic diseases, combining clinical practice with large-scale population studies.

Recent publications highlight advancements in genetic research, including studies on protein-coding variants linked to lipid metabolism (2019), protein-altering variants affecting BMI and obesity pathways (2018), and blood pressure loci analysis (2018). Earlier work explored rare coding variants impacting adult height (2017), published in Nature.

No scientific awards were explicitly mentioned in the provided texts. Dr. Afek’s advising efforts involve mentoring residents and medical students, though specific names are not listed. The texts do not mention grants or specific research laboratories/team affiliations.