Ryan McNeil, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine (General Medicine)Cards
Appointments
General Internal Medicine
Primary
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Secondary
Additional Titles
Director of Harm Reduction Research, Program in Addiction Medicine
Contact Info
Appointments
General Internal Medicine
Primary
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Secondary
Additional Titles
Director of Harm Reduction Research, Program in Addiction Medicine
Contact Info
Appointments
General Internal Medicine
Primary
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Secondary
Additional Titles
Director of Harm Reduction Research, Program in Addiction Medicine
Contact Info
About
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Titles
Associate Professor of Medicine (General Medicine)
Director of Harm Reduction Research, Program in Addiction Medicine
Biography
Dr. McNeil's research examines how forces operating within the risk environments of people who use drugs shape risk and harm. He has led studies examining: (1) social, structural, and environmental influences on the implementation and effectiveness of harm reduction and addiction treatment interventions, including supervised consumption services; (2) the influence of housing and housing-based interventions on overdose-related risks; (3) approaches to the management of stimulant use disorders. His foundational research on harm reduction approaches, including supervised consumption services and safe supply, has been instrumental to informing their scale-up.
Dr. McNeil regularly provides expert advice to health care organizations and governments on the development, implementation, and optimization of harm reduction and addiction treatment interventions. Pursuant to the goal of meaningfully involving people who use drugs in all stages of the research process, he actively collaborates with community-based organizations, including peer-driven drug user, sex worker, and tenant rights organizations, to align his research with community priorities and provide opportunities for people with lived experience to co-lead and engage in research.
Last Updated on August 06, 2024.
Appointments
General Internal Medicine
Associate Professor on TermPrimarySocial and Behavioral Sciences
Assistant ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Research
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Anthropology, Medical; Drug Users; Social Problems
Public Health Interests
HIV/AIDS; Substance Use, Addiction; Poverty and Economic Security
Research at a Glance
Research Interests
Research topics Ryan McNeil is interested in exploring.
Publications
2025
A qualitative study exploring motives for the transition from injecting to smoking drugs in Vancouver, British Columbia
Bonn M, Kerr T, Boyd J, Rudzinski K, McNeil R, Ivsins A. A qualitative study exploring motives for the transition from injecting to smoking drugs in Vancouver, British Columbia. International Journal Of Drug Policy 2025, 145: 104982. PMID: 40946388, DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104982.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsSmoked drugsParticipants' narrativesPunitive drug lawsConsumption practicesVancouver Area Network of Drug UsersHarm reduction measuresConcept of resilienceDrug supplyModes of consumptionQualitative interviewsDrug lawsDrug toxicity deathsDrug Users StudyAIDS Care CohortQualitative studyThematic analysisBritish ColumbiaSurvival ServicesPeopleDrug usersVancouverWellbeingResilienceInterviewsUser studyBarriers and facilitators to injectable opioid agonist treatment engagement within a structural vulnerability context: a qualitative study of patient experiences in Vancouver, Canada
Mayer S, Fairbairn N, Fowler A, Boyd J, Kerr T, McNeil R. Barriers and facilitators to injectable opioid agonist treatment engagement within a structural vulnerability context: a qualitative study of patient experiences in Vancouver, Canada. Harm Reduction Journal 2025, 22: 116. PMID: 40615907, PMCID: PMC12228173, DOI: 10.1186/s12954-025-01262-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSocial servicesStructural vulnerabilityVancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhoodRelated careInjectable opioid agonist treatmentUse-related risksHousing instabilityVulnerability lensObservational fieldworkVulnerability contextFieldwork observationsOpioid agonist treatment engagementQualitative interviewsPeople's engagementQualitative studies of patients' experiencesExperiences of barriersStudies of patients' experiencesHealthcare provider supervisionMobility challengesFollow-up interviewsImprove accessSocial supportQualitative studyFieldworkBarriers to treatmentA critical examination of ‘family’ caregiving at the end of life in contexts of homelessness: Key concepts and future considerations
Mollison A, Stajduhar K, Gagnon M, McNeil R. A critical examination of ‘family’ caregiving at the end of life in contexts of homelessness: Key concepts and future considerations. Palliative Care And Social Practice 2025, 19: 26323524251336765. PMID: 40371322, PMCID: PMC12075969, DOI: 10.1177/26323524251336765.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsContext of homelessnessEnd of lifeFamily caregiversPalliative careFictive kinshipSocial determinantsCommunity service workersStreet-involved youthContext of inequalitySocial determinants of healthDeterminants of healthInformal caregiving rolesStreet familiesHousing vulnerabilitySocial institutionsService workersHomelessnessFamily standardsNuclear familiesCaregiving roleAccessing CareStructural vulnerabilityFamily estrangementOlder adultsCaregiversReimagining subjectivities in place: Necropolitical logics of safer supply and housing in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
Fleming T, Boyd J, McNeil R. Reimagining subjectivities in place: Necropolitical logics of safer supply and housing in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Social Science & Medicine 2025, 372: 117930. PMID: 40088666, PMCID: PMC12036833, DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117930.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsVancouver's Downtown EastsideSocial sufferingDowntown EastsideSocio-spatial contextSocial structural forcesConcept of necropoliticsHousing environmentOverdose crisisNecropolitical logicReimagine subjectivityQualitative interviewsParticipants' narrativesTransformative potentialHousingIllicit drugsEastsidePeoplePrecarious healthCrisisVancouverOverdose deathsContextPrescription alternativesNecropoliticsReduce overdose deathsAcceptability of long-acting antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada: A qualitative study
Chayama K, Ng C, Brohman I, Mansoor M, Small W, Philbin M, Collins A, McNeil R. Acceptability of long-acting antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada: A qualitative study. PLOS ONE 2025, 20: e0319010. PMID: 40019916, PMCID: PMC11870339, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0319010.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAdherence to antiretroviral therapyLong-acting antiretroviral therapyLA-ARTAntiretroviral therapySuboptimal adherence to antiretroviral therapyAdherence barriersProspective cohort studySuboptimal ART adherenceAdverse side effectsPill burdenTreatment optionsSubstance useCohort studyART adherenceTreatment advancesSide effectsTreatment changesPLHIVTreatment approachesTherapyCredible sources of informationPopulation-level benefitsDrugHIVSocial-structural inequitiesS20 Examining the Role of Emergency Housing in Safer Supply Prescription Access in British Columbia Amidst Overlapping COVID-19 and Overdose Public Health Emergencies: A Qualitative Study
Parusel S, Fleming T, Mayer S, Mansoor M, Ivsins A, Boyd J, McNeil R. S20 Examining the Role of Emergency Housing in Safer Supply Prescription Access in British Columbia Amidst Overlapping COVID-19 and Overdose Public Health Emergencies: A Qualitative Study. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2025, 267: 111440. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.111440.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchW124 Implications for Overdose Response Among People Experiencing Homelessness who Co-Use Fentanyl and Stimulants in San Francisco and New York: Findings From Phase 1 of a Longitudinal Study
Knight K, Koenders S, Augustine D, Dhatt Z, Jacques T, Taylor G, McNeil R. W124 Implications for Overdose Response Among People Experiencing Homelessness who Co-Use Fentanyl and Stimulants in San Francisco and New York: Findings From Phase 1 of a Longitudinal Study. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2025, 267: 112066. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.112066.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchM100 Impacts of an Innovative Injectable Diacetylmorphine Treatment Program Complemented With Fentanyl Patches on Overdose Vulnerability: A Qualitative Study in Vancouver, Canada
McNeil R, Ivsins A, Ng C, Chayama K, Mayer S. M100 Impacts of an Innovative Injectable Diacetylmorphine Treatment Program Complemented With Fentanyl Patches on Overdose Vulnerability: A Qualitative Study in Vancouver, Canada. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2025, 267: 111694. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.111694.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchS15 Barriers and Facilitators to Injectable Opioid Agonist Treatment Engagement: A Qualitative Study of Patient Experiences in Vancouver, Canada
Mayer S, Fairbairn N, Fowler A, McNeil R. S15 Barriers and Facilitators to Injectable Opioid Agonist Treatment Engagement: A Qualitative Study of Patient Experiences in Vancouver, Canada. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2025, 267: 111435. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.111435.Peer-Reviewed Original Research“None of It Turned Out the Way She Wanted, So It Left a Hole in Me”: Informal Caregiving at the End of Life in Contexts of Inequity
Mollison A, Gagnon M, McNeil R, Stewart A, Giesbrecht M, Bourgeois A, Stajduhar K. “None of It Turned Out the Way She Wanted, So It Left a Hole in Me”: Informal Caregiving at the End of Life in Contexts of Inequity. Health & Social Care In The Community 2025, 2025 DOI: 10.1155/hsc/8788241.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsEnd of lifeInformal caregiversPalliative careHealth equity approachContext of inequalityLife-limiting conditionsQuality of life of peopleStructural inequalitiesFace inequalitiesPalliative caregiversDominant understandingsLives of peopleUnrelated caregiversAccessing CareCanadian citiesSocial justiceEthnographic studyPalliative contextEquity approachCaregiversThematic findingsCareWell-resourcedInequalityService providers
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
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Honors
honor Highly Cited Researcher (Crossfield)
11/19/2024International AwardClarivatehonor Canadian Hillman Prize
03/26/2020International AwardSidney Hillman FoundationDetailsCanadahonor Radio Impact Award
11/02/2019International AwardThird Coast International Audio Festivalhonor Scholar Award
07/01/2016International AwardMichael Smith Foundation for Health ResearchDetailsCanadahonor New Investigator Award
07/01/2016International AwardCanadian Institutes of Health ResearchDetailsCanada
News
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News
- November 12, 2025
Twenty-Seven YSM Faculty Members Recognized for Highly Cited Research
- April 30, 2023Source: The Washington Post
Artist’s death spotlights peril posed by xylazine-fentanyl mix
- April 20, 2023Source: The Washington Post
Experts slam plan to sell overdose antidote Narcan at about $50 a kit
- October 31, 2022
Several Yale Program in Addiction Medicine Faculty Members Receive New NIH HEAL Initiative Awards
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