Julie R Gaither, PhD, MPH, RN

Dr. Gaither is an epidemiologist with a background in pediatric nursing whose research focuses on the impact of the opioid crisis on children, families, and communities. She began studying the opioid crisis more than a decade ago as part of her dissertation research, for which she received a National Research Service Award from the NIH to examine opioid prescribing and mortality among U.S. veterans. In 2015, she published the first national study to examine hospitalizations for opioid poisonings in children, followed by the first national study of pediatric deaths from opioids. Prior to these publications, most of what was known about opioid-related morbidity and mortality came from the adult literature.

To date, Dr. Gaither has published more than 60 peer-reviewed papers and is the author of Living with Opioids: A Clarion Call to Safeguarding Our Homes and Families (Springer, 2026), which examines the epidemic through a family-centered lens and offers practical strategies for families, providers, and institutions. Her research has been supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Center for Advancing Translational Science, the Patterson Trust, the Hood Foundation, and, most recently, the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development.