Robert Heimer, Ph.D.
Professor
Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
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, HIV 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, and ethnographic analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention programs in preventing the negative medical consequences of injection drug use. Dr. Heimer is Director of the Interdisciplinary Research Methods Core at Yale’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS.
Dr. Heimer is also the Director of the Yale office of the Connecticut Emerging Infections Program. This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded program is one of eleven 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 chronic liver disease (especially hepatitis C), foodborne illnesses, and respiratory illnesses.
Selected Publications
Abdala, N., Gleghorn, A.A., Carney, J.M., and Heimer, R. Can HIV-1 infected syringes be safely cleaned? Implications for transmission among injection drug users. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 28: 487-494, 2001.
Heimer, R., Bray, S., Burris, S., Khoshnood, K., and Blankenship, K.M. Structural interventions to improve opiate maintenance. Intl. J. Drug Policy 13: 103-111, 2002.
Heimer, R., Clair, S., Grau, L.E., Bluthenthal, R.N., Marshall, P.A., and Singer, M. Hepatitis-associated knowledge is low and risks are high among HIV-aware injection drug users in three US cities. Addiction 97: 1277-1287, 2002.
Heimer, R., Clair, S., Teng, W., Grau, L.E., Khoshnood, K., and Singer, M. Effects of increasing syringe availability on syringe exchange use and HIV risk: Connecticut, 1990-2000. J. Urban Health 79: 556-570, 2002.
Grau, L.E., Arevalo, S., Catchpool, C., and Heimer, R. Expanded harm reduction services via wound and abscess clinic. Amer. J. Public Health 92: 1915-1917, 2002.
Abdala, N., Carney, J.M., Durante, A.J., Klimov, N., Ostrovski, D., Somlai, A.M., Kozlov, A.P., and Heimer, R. Estimating the prevalence of syringe-borne and sexually transmitted diseases among injection drug users in St. Petersburg, Russia. Intl. J. STD & AIDS 14: 697-703, 2003.
Schmid, G.P., Heimer, R., et al. Transmission of HIV-1 infection in sub-Saharan Africa and effect of elimination on unsafe injections. Lancet 363(9407): 482-488, 2004.
Bluthenthal, R.N., Malik, R., Grau, L.E., Singer, M., Marshall, P.A., and Heimer, R. Sterile syringe access conditions and variations in HIV risk among drug injectors in three cities. Addiction 99: 1136-1146, 2004.
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