Jonathan L. Howland, PhD

Emeritus Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Howland graduated Northeastern University 1976 with an MPA, Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) 1984 with an MPH in epidemiology and received his Ph.D. in 1986 in Health Policy. That same year, he joined the faculty at BUSPH and most recently served as Professor, Community Health Sciences. His teachings range from Community Interventions, Social and Behavioral Sciences to an Advanced MPH, Intervention Research Program. Dr. Howland served as Chair of BUSPH Social and Behavioral Sciences Department and remains a professor in that department as well as a visiting professor at the Kalmar Maritime Academy in Sweden and Core Faculty, Harvard Injury Control Research Center (HICRC).

In July 2010, Jonathan joined the Faculty of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Boston Medical Center (BMC) as the Director of Public Health and Injury Prevention Research. In this role, Dr. Howland will oversee and guide the Emergency Department's Public Health research efforts focusing on harm and injury reduction, alcohol and substance abuse interventions, as well as overall public health policy as a preventative measure. As Senior Investigator, Dr. Howland will spearhead all Public Health collaborations across New England Institutions studying injury prevention and oversee and expand public health research efforts in the emergency department at BMC.

Areas of research interests include: falls among the elderly; prevention of sexually transmitted infections in high-risk populations; reduction of human error in safety-sensitive systems (training simulators to measure outcomes are used); low-dose and residual alcohol effects on occupational and neurocognitive performance; the relative effects of caffeinated vs. non-caffeinated alcoholic beverages on risk-taking behaviors among adolescents and young adults.

Serving as Principal Investigator, Dr. Howland’s research has been supported by grants from the NIH, CDC, DOD, DHHS, RWJ, as well as other distinguished agencies.

Publications

  • Published 3/13/2024

    Howland J, Peterson EW. The critical role of primary care health care professionals in referring older adults to community-based fall prevention programs. Front Public Health. 2024; 12:1377972. PMID: 38544734.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/21/2023

    Hemenway D, Peterson EW, Howland J. Reducing fall injuries with better data. Inj Epidemiol. 2023 Dec 21; 10(1):69. PMID: 38129920.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/22/2023

    Howland J, Stone A. Public health nurses for case finding, assessment and referral of community-dwelling socially isolated and/or lonely older adults. Front Public Health. 2023; 11:1114792. PMID: 37033035.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/21/2023

    Campbell JK, Howland J, Insalaco B, Lawrence-Soto G. Knowledge, Perceived Competence, and Behaviors Relative to Traumatic Brain Injury Among a Sample of Domestic Violence Emergency Shelter Advocates in a New England State. Violence Against Women. 2024 Sep; 30(11):2808-2827. PMID: 36942449.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/14/2023

    Hess CW, Howland J, Hackman H, Campbell JK, Vannoy S, Hayden L. Implementation of Concussion Management Policies in High Schools: The Critical Role of School Nurses. J Sch Nurs. 2024 Dec; 40(6):675-687. PMID: 36916285.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

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

Education

  • Boston University, PhD
  • Boston University School of Public Health, MPH
  • Northeastern University, MPA
  • Columbia University, BA