Elisha M. Wachman, MD
Associate Professor, Pediatrics

Biography
Dr. Wachman is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and attending neonatologist at Boston Medical Center (BMC). She is currently the Director of Pediatric Academic Research at BMC, and the Co-Director of the BU CTSI Integrated Pilot Grant Award Program. She is a nationally recognized clinical and translational researcher with expertise in neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) and substance use disorders in pregnancy. Her specific research interests include the genetics and epigenetics of NOWS, treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) in pregnancy, and the use of non-pharmacologic care methods to improve NOWS outcomes. She is currently the principal investigator of a NIH funded study examining the safety, efficacy, pharmacokinetics, pharmacogenomics, and long-term maternal and infant outcomes of naltrexone for pregnant individuals with OUD and participates in several other NIH and foundation funded studies involving pregnant individuals with OUD / infants with NOWS. Dr. Wachman also studies perinatal COVID-19 transmission, including examination of placental and neonatal markers of inflammation.
Other Positions
- Co-Director, Integrated Pilot Grant Award Program, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Boston University
Education
- Boston University School of Medicine, MD
- Georgetown University, BS
Publications
- Published on 4/4/2023
Kropp FB, Smid MC, Lofwall MR, Wachman EM, Martin PR, Murphy SM, Wilder CM, Winhusen TJ. Collaborative care programs for pregnant and postpartum individuals with opioid use disorder: Organizational characteristics of sites participating in the NIDA CTN0080 MOMs study. J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2023 Jun; 149:209030. PMID: 37023858.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/13/2023
Bektas G, Soderborg T, Slater C, Agarwal J, Racioppi M, Hogan T, Werler MM, Wachman EM. The Neonatal Withdrawal Assessment Tool (NWAT): pilot inter-rater reliability and content validity. J Perinatol. 2023 Mar 13. PMID: 36914798.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/29/2023
Sabharwal V, Demos R, Snyder-Cappione J, Parker SE, Shaik-Dasthagirisaheb Y, Hunnewell J, Boateng J, Clarke K, Yuen R, Barnett E, Yarrington C, Taglauer E, Wachman EM. Cytokine levels in maternal and infant blood after COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy in comparison with unvaccinated controls. J Reprod Immunol. 2023 Mar; 156:103821. PMID: 36764228.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/12/2022
Wachman EM, Snyder-Cappione J, Devera J, Boateng J, Dhole Y, Clarke K, Yuen RR, Parker SE, Hunnewell J, Ferraro R, Jean-Sicard S, Woodard E, Cruikshank A, Sinha B, Bartolome R, Barnett ED, Yarrington C, Taglauer ES, Sabharwal V. Maternal, Infant, and Breast Milk Antibody Response Following COVID-19 Infection in Early Versus Late Gestation. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2023 Mar 01; 42(3):e70-e76. PMID: 36729773.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/3/2022
Juttukonda LJ, Wachman EM, Boateng J, Clarke K, Snyder-Cappione J, Taglauer ES. The impact of maternal SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and first trimester infection on feto-maternal immune responses. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2022 Dec; 88(6):e13625. PMID: 36123778.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/2/2022
Perry BN, Vais S, Boateng JO, Jain M, Wachman EM, Saia KA. Buprenorphine-naloxone Versus Buprenorphine for Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy. J Addict Med. 2022 Nov-Dec 01; 16(6):e399-e404. PMID: 35916423.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/17/2022
Borrelli KN, Wachman EM, Beierle JA, Taglauer ES, Jain M, Bryant CD, Zhang H. Effect of Prenatal Opioid Exposure on the Human Placental Methylome. Biomedicines. 2022 May 17; 10(5). PMID: 35625888.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/1/2022
Morrison TM, MacMillan KDL, Melvin P, Singh R, Murzycki J, Van Vleet MW, Rothstein R, O'Shea TF, Gupta M, Schiff DM, Wachman EM. Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome: A Comparison of As-Needed Pharmacotherapy. Hosp Pediatr. 2022 May 01; 12(5):530-538. PMID: 35403199.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/21/2022
Taglauer ES, Dhole Y, Boateng J, Snyder-Cappione J, Parker SE, Clarke K, Juttukonda L, Devera J, Hunnewell J, Barnett E, Jia H, Yarrington C, Sabharwal V, Wachman EM. Evaluation of maternal-infant dyad inflammatory cytokines in pregnancies affected by maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection in early and late gestation. J Perinatol. 2022 Oct; 42(10):1319-1327. PMID: 35449446.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/24/2022
Juttukonda LJ, Wachman EM, Boateng J, Jain M, Benarroch Y, Taglauer ES. Decidual immune response following COVID-19 during pregnancy varies by timing of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. J Reprod Immunol. 2022 Jun; 151:103501. PMID: 35231754.
Read at: PubMed
View 58 more publications: View full profile at BUMC