Joshua A. Barocas, MD

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

I lead an interdisciplinary research program that is specifically aimed at the goal of improving health outcomes for patients with infectious diseases including HIV and HCV, substance use disorders, and other vulnerable populations. My research, which uses clinical epidemiology, health economics, simulation modeling, and cost-effectiveness, informs clinical-decision making and health policy to answer clinically- and policy-relevant questions. I am engaged in research using these innovative methods to help understand the impact of and improve upon policies that affect people who use drugs infected with or at high risk for infections. My research is currently been funded by NIDA in the form of both a K01 and a DP2 award as well as multiple grants for which I am a Co-Investigator. I have also received NIAID, the Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), the BU-CTSI, and the MGH Executive Committee on Research Fund for Medical Discovery. I currently serve as Director of the Health Economics and Modeling Core for the Massachusetts HEALing Communities Study, an NIH-funded grant to significantly reduce overdose. I am the previous recipient of the Charles A. King Trust Research Award, and the prestigious AAMC Herbert W. Nickens Faculty Fellowship Award, which recognizes a junior faculty member who demonstrates leadership potential in addressing inequity in health care. I have published my work and editorials in leading journals such as NEJM, Lancet Public Health, JAMA Internal Medicine, AJPH, Addiction, Clinical Infectious Diseases, and Annals of Internal Medicine. My work has been widely cited in the media, including the Boston Globe, U.S. News and World Report, and NPR.

Publications

  • Published 8/12/2025

    Fetters KB, Barocas JA. Advocating for Maintaining Housing First Policies. JAMA. 2025 Aug 12; 334(6):485-486. PMID: 40608323.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 8/1/2025

    Jurecka C, Adams J, Padmanabhan P, Glanz J, Christine P, Guan X, Kline D, Binswanger I, Barocas J. Implementation of a Statewide Fentanyl Possession Law and Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths. JAMA Health Forum. 2025 Aug 01; 6(8):e252654. PMID: 40748547.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 8/1/2025

    Kline DM, Padmanabhan P, Brewer SE, Cerdá M, Versen E, Keyes KM, Kushel M, Wilson EC, Wesson P, Hyder A, Boyer A, Al-Tayyib A, Barocas JA. Improving health and housing outcomes through a simulation and economic model: an evidence-based protocol of a group model building approach to develop an agent-based model. Front Public Health. 2025; 13:1623385. PMID: 40823214.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/25/2025

    Ganesh SS, Portillo GAO, Trigo DR, Ninh K, Gonzalez KD, Wilkins P, Kovalsky E, Corsi KF, Barocas J, Bluthenthal RN. Risk factors for multiple skin abscesses among community-recruited people who inject drugs in Los Angeles, CA, and Denver, CO: a cross-sectional study. Ther Adv Infect Dis. 2025; 12:20499361251344765. PMID: 40575396.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/2/2025

    Zwick H, O'Dea R, Barocas JA, Flam-Ross JM, Chatterjee A, Walley AY, Harris RA, Schackman BR, White LF, Chrysanthopoulou SA, Assoumou SA, Murphy SM, Morgan JR, Baptiste D, Carroll M, Linas BP. Health and Economic Outcomes of Addressing Encampments of Individuals Using Opioids. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jun 02; 8(6):e2517095. PMID: 40577017.

    Read at: PubMed

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Websites

Education

  • George Washington University School of Medicine, MD
  • Washington University in St. Louis, BA

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