Alison A. Moore, MD, MPH, FACP, AGSF

Expert Publications

• The alcohol-related problems survey: identifying hazardous and harmful drinking in older primary care patients.
• Alcohol use, comorbidity, and mortality.
• Ethnic differences in expectations for aging among older adults.
• Do substance type and diagnosis make a difference? A study of remission from alcohol- versus drug-use disorders using the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.
• Light to moderate alcohol consumption and disability: variable benefits by health status.
• Addressing delays in medication administration for patients transferred from the hospital to the nursing home: a pilot quality improvement project.
• Gender and comorbidity among individuals with opioid use disorders in the NESARC study.
• Perceptions of need and help received for substance dependence in a national probability survey.
• Determinants of early reductions in drinking in older at-risk drinkers participating in the intervention arm of a trial to reduce at-risk drinking in primary care.
• Do health educator telephone calls reduce at-risk drinking among older adults in primary care?
• Prevalence and correlates of at-risk drinking among older adults: the project SHARE study.
• Alcohol, tobacco, and nonmedical drug use disorders in U.S. Adults aged 65 years and older: data from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions.
• Correlates of alcohol-related discussions between older adults and their physicians.

Media Releases

Get to know Geriatrician Dr. Alison A. Moore, who serves patients in La Jolla, California.

Dr. Moore is a board-certified geriatrician and internal medicine doctor who specializes in caring for older adults. She provides primary care to patients, with an emphasis on health promotion, disease prevention, treatment of acute and chronic diseases, and preservation of function.

As a geriatrician, she aims to keep seniors healthy and high functioning as they transition through the stages of aging. Her expertise includes providing therapeutic and rehabilitative care for conditions or health concerns that are common among the elderly such as frailty, falls, incontinence, memory and cognitive problems, and medication-related side effects. She also has expertise in end-of-life care and advance care planning.

In her current capacity as Chief of the Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Care in the Department of Medicine, Dr. Moore leads the Division’s efforts to establish excellence in clinical care, education, research, and community engagement.

Alongside her clinical role, she serves as a Professor within the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego. As a professor, she lectures to students, residents, fellows, and faculty on topics such as technology,, and substance use in older adults as well as ethics in research and mentorship. She is also Vice Chair of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Department of Medicine. 

Prior to joining UC San Diego Health in 2016, she was the chief-at-large of the Division of Geriatrics at UCLA Health and a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Pertaining to her educational pursuits, Dr. Moore earned her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans and obtained a Master of Public Health degree in Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She then completed a residency in internal medicine at Brown Alpert Medical School, Rhode Island Hospital, and a fellowship at the UCLA Multicampus Program in geriatric medicine and gerontology. 

A Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society (AGSF), and of the American College of Physicians (FACP),  the doctor is board-certified in geriatric medicine and internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). The ABIM is a physician-led, non-profit, independent evaluation organization driven by doctors who want to achieve higher standards for better care in a rapidly changing world.

Continuously advancing her efforts, Dr. Moore is a member of the American College of Physicians, the American Geriatrics Society, the Gerontological Society of America, and the Research Society on Alcoholism. She has been active in many national committees and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Geriatrics Society.

An avid researcher, her research over the past 20 years has focused on the epidemiology and health-related effects of alcohol and other substances among diverse populations; and developing and testing screening and brief interventions to reduce unhealthy alcohol use among older adults. She has led many research grants funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

Extensively published, she has co-authored over 80 peer-reviewed articles. Her work has appeared in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, among others. Dr. Moore also reviews for numerous medical journals and presents frequently at seminars and national medical conferences.

Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a specialty that focuses on the health care of elderly people. It aims to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. A geriatrician is a health care provider who focuses on patient well-being and independent functioning. These allopathic or osteopathic health care providers are specifically trained to evaluate and manage the unique health care needs and special treatment requirements of older people.

With a passion for mentorship, Dr. Moore was awarded the UC San Diego Health Sciences Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2019 and both leads research training programs and participates in many others. She has been recognized as a Top Doctor by the San Diego County Medical Association in 2018 and Top Doctor in the Los Angeles area by Castle Connolly Magazine in 2013.

Outside of work, she enjoys exploring San Diego and spending time with family and friends.

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