Biography

Patricia Cioe is Associate Dean of Research and Scholarship, and Professor at the University of Rhode Island College of Nursing, and Adjunct Professor at Brown University School of Public Health, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, where she served as primary faculty from 2014-2025. She received a Ph.D. in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester in 2012. She completed an NIH-funded T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University where she cross-trained in HIV, tobacco dependence, and addictive behaviors. She received training in qualitative research methods and behavioral intervention development.
Dr. Cioe’s research interests focus broadly on cardiovascular risk reduction in people with HIV (PWH), with a specific focus on smoking cessation and smoking harm reduction. Specifically, her research seeks to improve clinical outcomes of PWH through the development of innovative interventions and promotion of health behavior change at the patient level. She is Principal Investigator of several NIH-funded studies. Dr. Cioe developed and pilot tested a tailored invention incorporating techniques of motivational interviewing and personalized feedback to improve cardiovascular risk perception and the adoption of heart-healthy behaviors in PWH, including diet, physical activity, and smoking cessation.
Her current work is focused on the development of innovative smoking cessations interventions for PWH, and examination of the effects of cigarette smoking on HIV clinical outcomes, including biomarkers of monocyte activation and inflammation. Dr. Cioe has also examined the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems for harm reduction in PWH who smoke and are unable or unwilling to quit.
Dr. Cioe received the Nurse Researcher Recognition Award from the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care in 2018 and was named Nurse Scientist of the Year by the Rhode Island State Nurses Association in 2019.