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Robert Heimer, PhD

Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and of Pharmacology
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Additional Titles

Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

Contact Info

Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases

PO Box 208034, 60 College Street

New Haven, CT 06520-8034

United States

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

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 Subject Headings (MeSH)

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Epidemiology; Foodborne Diseases; Global Health; Hepatitis C; HIV Infections; Injections; Public Health; Russia; Vietnam

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Robert Heimer's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    Empowerment, Treatment, and Prevention for People who Inject Drug in Hanoi, Vietnam

  • activity

    AIDS/HIV, Russia

  • activity

    Influences on HIV Prevalence and Service Access

Get In Touch

Contacts

Academic Office Number
Office Fax Number
Mailing Address

Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases

PO Box 208034, 60 College Street

New Haven, CT 06520-8034

United States

Locations

  • LEPH 527

    Academic Office

    60 College Street

    New Haven, CT 06510