Dr. Cabral’s research spans both observational studies and randomized clinical trials, including well known studies in cardiovascular health and studies of the effects of substance use on human health across the life span, with over 400 peer-reviewed publications. He has extensive experience in the analysis of longitudinal health data, especially those collected in urban areas with ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. His methodological interests are in the analysis of longitudinal data, randomized clinical trials in behavioral and health services research, risk prediction models in acute and chronic disease, the effects of missing data on statistical estimation, and statistical computing.

Dr. Cabral’s collaborative research has examined the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on development from birth through age 22, randomized trials of problem solving education in treating parental depression, a randomized trial testing a peer-based model in retaining those infected with HIV in primary care, models to enhance the care of homeless patients living with HIV, differences in child and maternal health in those who did and did not received intervention through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) linking vital statistics, administrative public health and clinical databases in Massachusetts, randomized trials of computerized conversational agents in genetic counseling and pre-conception risk factor management, the use of advanced care directives in special populations, the relationship of health literacy to health care utilization, and the efficacy of patient navigation that addresses social determinants of health in women of race and ethnic minorities who are receiving care for breast cancer in all of the major hospitals in Boston. In addition, Dr. Cabral is an investigator on multiple new research projects that focus on the health of Black women: a randomized clinical trial of genetic counseling for cancer in the Black Women's Health study; the EDGE study of the early detection of genetic risk for cancer with the University of Washington; a randomized trial of intervention modalities for Black immigrant women living with HIV; a national study of bundled interventions to improve the health and well-being of Black women living with HIV; a multi-phase study of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) in Massachusetts, with intervention studies studying safety-related bundles and enhanced care by doulas; a randomized trial of virtual reality as a modality in the intervention for smoking cessation; and a study of community-level trauma after Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas. Dr. Cabral is a developer of the BODE Index for risk assessment in patients with COPD, a nationally and internationally employed tool for risk prediction that has been cited in the literature over 2,600 times to-date. He was a member of the Committee on Depression, Parenting Practices, and the Healthy Development of Young Children of the Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He is also a statistical consultant to the Institute of Community Health in Malden, MA and is a former statistical consultant to the Boston Public Health Commission.