Allen L. Gifford, MD

Professor, Boston University School of Public Health

Biography

Dr. Gifford is Professor of Health Policy and Management in the Boston University School of Public Health and of Medicine in the BU School of Medicine, as well as a practicing physician. He leads the Health Services Research Section at VA Boston, where he is Director of the Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), and corresponding Director of the Evidence, Policy, and Implementation Center. These national programs funded by the Department of Veteran Affairs support Health Services, and Implementation Science Research throughout VA. He is also past Director of the HIV/Hepatitis QUERI (Quality Enhancement research Initiative) for HIV and Hepatitis.
Dr. Gifford’s scholarly activities focus on improvement of care quality within learning healthcare systems, with special emphasis on implementation science including but not limited to HIV and Hepatitis. He has been a recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Generalist Physician Faculty Scholar Award for his research on medication adherence support programs, and a VA Advanced Research Career Development Award for implementation research. He has been Principal Investigator of many research studies, including NIH R01, VA HSR&D Merit, QUERI, and private foundation grants.
He is an attending physician, practicing HIV and Hepatitis care at the VA Bedford and VA Boston Healthcare Systems.

Publications

  • Published 9/23/2026

    Messersmith LJ, West RL, Larson A, Beard J, Simmons E, Halim N, Gasuza J, Aroda P, Hamer DH, Gifford AL, Mukasa B, Sabin LL. What went wrong? A qualitative exploration of the determinants of poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy and retention in care among pregnant and postpartum women in the Uganda WiseMama trial. Glob Public Health. 2026 Dec 31; 21(1):2736318. PMID: 42779011.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/9/2026

    Peracca SB, Zepeda ED, Lachica O, Lamkin RP, Collins OE, Gifford AL, King HA, Jackson GL, Wei ML, de la Feld S, Yeung H, Twigg AR, Dellavalle RP, Fujita M, Weinstock MA, Oh DH. Veterans' willingness to use home-based telehealth and artificial intelligence for dermatology. J Invest Dermatol. 2026 Sep 09. PMID: 42716211.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/15/2026

    Peracca SB, Sturgeon DJ, Lamkin RP, Zepeda ED, Mohr DC, Lachica O, King HA, Jackson GL, Morris IJ, Gifford AL, Whited JD, Weinstock MA, Oh DH. Disparities in Initial Usage of Direct-to-Patient Teledermatology: A Retrospective Observational Study. Telemed J E Health. 2026 Oct; 32(10):1012-1020. PMID: 42296049.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/5/2025

    Kaiser JL, Trowbridge E, Vian T, Haberer JE, Paudel R, DeMaria J, Orrell C, Jennings L, Gifford AL, Halim N, Berkowitz N, MacLeod WB, Sabin LL. Complexity of Adherence Challenges: Understanding Syndemic Factors Affecting HIV Treatment Adherence During Treatment Initiation in Cape Town, South Africa. AIDS Behav. 2026 May; 30(5):1418-1438. PMID: 41348307.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/17/2025

    Harvey L, Abdulkerim H, Strymish J, Ryan SK, Boudreau J, Gifford A, Hyde J, Branch-Elliman W. Infectious Complications of Substance Use: A Retrospective Cohort Study of Hospitalized Veterans. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2025 Jun; 12(6):ofaf301. PMID: 40476030.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 174 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Professor, Medicine
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Websites

Education

  • University of North Carolina, MD
  • Harvard University, AB

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