Robert Heimer, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and of PharmacologyCards
About
Titles
Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and of Pharmacology
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Biography
Dr. Heimer's major research efforts include scientific investigation of the mortality and morbidity associated with injection drug use. Areas of investigation include syringe exchange programs, virus survival in syringes, hepatitis B vaccination, hepatitis C transmission risks, overdose prevention and resuscitation, and pharmacological treatment of opiate addiction. His research combines laboratory, operational, behavioral, and structural analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention programs in preventing the negative medical consequences of injection drug use. Dr. Heimer is a member of Yale’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) and former Director of its Interdisciplinary Research Methods Core. His current work focuses on the contexts and consequences of the opioid crisis in CT and the systemic of HIV, viral hepatitis, and injection drug use nationally and globally.
Dr. Heimer previously served as Principal Investigator of the Yale office of the Connecticut Emerging Infections Program. This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded program is one of ten programs nationwide that seek to assess, through population-based surveillance, the public health impact of emerging infectious diseases and to evaluate methods for their prevention and control in the community. The Yale program currently focuses on foodborne illnesses, and respiratory illnesses (especially influenza), Lyme and other tickborne diseases, Clostridium difficile, and the prevention of human papillomavirus infections.
Dr. Heimer received his training in molecular biology and pharmacology at Columbia College (BA) and Yale University (MA, PhD). He began his work on the prevention of HIV among injection drug users in 1990 with an evaluation of the city-run New Haven needle exchange program and his work on emerging infections in 1995 with studies of the tick-borne agent of human ehrlichiosis.
Appointments
Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS
- Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
- Global Health Studies
- Molecular Virology
- Office of Global Health Education
- Virology Laboratories
- Yale Institute for Global Health
- Yale School of Public Health
- Yale Ventures
- Yale-UPR Integrated HIV Basic and Clinical Sciences Initiative
- YSPH Global Health Concentration
Education & Training
- PhD
- Yale University (1988)
- MSc
- Yale University (1980)
- BA
- Columbia University (1974)
Research
Overview
Robert Heimer is Professor of Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health and of Pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Heimer’s research provides health and prevention practitioners with information by examining consequences of drug abuse in the United States, Russia, and in other global contexts.
Current research and program evaluation efforts are funded by NIH, CDC, FDA, and the Gilead Foundation.
Medical Research Interests
Public Health Interests
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
News & Links
News
- July 22, 2024Source: WTNH
How QR code can help people with opioid use disorder
- July 05, 2024
Weleff Edits New Issue of AMA Journal of Ethics
- May 23, 2024
2024 Top Research Awards Announced
- April 30, 2024
Amid Opioid Overdose Crisis, Yale Program in Addiction Medicine Advises State on Drug Company Settlement Spending