Rachel Epstein MD, MScE
Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics
801 Massachusetts Ave | (617) 414-5295rachel.epstein@bmc.org
rle@bu.edu
Sections
Infectious Diseases
Biography
Rachel L. Epstein, MD, MScE, is a clinician-scientist working to utilize large data sets and decision modelling to inform policy and program design to improve care for individuals with Hepatitis C, HIV, and substance use, with a particular focus on pregnant women and youth.
Dr. Epstein completed combined residency training in internal medicine-pediatrics at Brown University, and worked in primary care through the Providence Community Health Centers and the Hasbro Adolescent Center before fellowship. She completed a combined adult and pediatric infectious diseases fellowship at Boston Medical Center and a T32 post-doctoral research fellowship through the Boston University Clinical HIV/AIDS Research Training Program (BU-CHART). She is an Assistant Professor in the BUSM Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, and Department of Pediatrics, Section of Infectious Diseases and sees adult and pediatric patients living with or at risk for Hepatitis C virus, HIV, and other infectious diseases. She also serves as the Med-Peds faculty specific advisor lead for BUSM students.
Dr. Epstein's current and recent work includes projects analyzing the effects of Medicaid HCV treatment restrictions on care cascade outcome achievement, HIV prevention and medication adherence, and comparing the cost-effectiveness of HCV and OUD screening, evaluation, and treatment interventions in women of reproductive age, children, and the general population. She currently or previously works/worked with data through OCHIN, TriNetX, the BMC Datawarehouse and COVID-19 Repository, Marketscan, and the Massachusetts Public Health Datawarehouse.
Education
MD, Thomas Jefferson University
MSc, Boston University School of Public Health
Biology, MA, Wesleyan University
Biology/Bioinformatics, BA, Wesleyan University
Publications
Curtis MR, Munroe S, Biondi BE, Ciaranello AL, Linas BP, Epstein RL. Disparities in Linkage to Care Among Children With Hepatitis C Virus in the United States. Pediatrics. 2025 May 01; 155(5). PMID: 40246302.
Published on 4/15/2025Singh RP, Biondi B, Gordon SH, Linas BP, Epstein RL. Hepatitis C Virus Screening in Pregnant and Nonpregnant Women After Universal Screening Guidelines. JAMA. 2025 Apr 15; 333(15):1356-1358. PMID: 39992633.
Published on 2/24/2025Epstein RL, Munroe S, Taylor LE, Duryea PR, Buzzee B, Pramanick T, Feld JJ, Baptiste D, Carroll M, Castera L, Sterling RK, Thomas A, Chan PA, Linas BP. Clinical- and Cost-Effectiveness of Liver Disease Staging in Hepatitis C Virus Infection: A Microsimulation Study. Clin Infect Dis. 2025 Feb 24; 80(2):300-313. PMID: 39535186.
Published on 2/18/2025Chalouni M, Van Santen DK, Berenguer J, Jarrin I, Miro JM, Klein MB, Young J, Torgersen J, Rentsch CT, Gill MJ, Epstein RL, Linas B, Zangerle R, Surial B, Rauch A, Touloumi G, Papadopoulos A, Wittkop L, Van Der Valk M, Boyd A, Monforte AD, Puoti M, Logan RW, Rein SM, Hernán MA, Lodi S. Time to direct-acting antiviral initiation and liver-related events in people with HIV and hepatitis C virus. AIDS. 2025 Jul 01; 39(8):1074-1079. PMID: 39970192.
Published on 12/17/2024Biondi BE, Munroe S, Lavarin C, Curtis MR, Buzzee B, Lodi S, Epstein RL. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Hepatitis C Care in Reproductive-Aged Women With Opioid Use Disorder. Clin Infect Dis. 2024 Dec 17; 79(6):1428-1436. PMID: 39356149.
Published on 12/1/2024Epstein RL, Jhaveri R. A Call to Pediatricians: How Can We Improve HCV Testing in Perinatally Exposed Infants? Pediatrics. 2024 Dec 01; 154(6). PMID: 39544012.
Published on 11/21/2024Epstein RL, Kurnellas A, Munroe S, Curtis MR, Biondi B, Wachman EM. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Testing of Hepatitis C Virus-Exposed Children Across the United States. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2024 Nov 21; 13(Supplement_5):S159-S165. PMID: 39171788.
Published on 11/21/2024Jhaveri R, Epstein R, Thompson P. Viral Hepatitis Elimination in Infants, Children, and Pregnancy: Elimination for Everyone by Everyone. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2024 Nov 21; 13(Supplement_5):S137-S138. PMID: 39570896.
Published on 5/1/2024Curtis MR, Epstein RL, Pei P, Linas BP, Ciaranello AL. Cost-Effectiveness of Strategies for Treatment Timing for Perinatally Acquired Hepatitis C Virus. JAMA Pediatr. 2024 May 01; 178(5):489-496. PMID: 38466273.
Published on 2/7/2024Epstein RL, Buzzee B, White LF, Feld JJ, Castera L, Sterling RK, Linas BP, Taylor LE. Test characteristics for combining non-invasive liver fibrosis staging modalities in individuals with Hepatitis C virus. J Viral Hepat. 2024 Jun; 31(6):277-292. PMID: 38326950.
Media Mentions
Published on 11/5/2024
Q&A: How to improve HCV care among women who use opioids
Published on 10/8/2024
Disparities in Hepatitis C Care for Reproductive-Aged Women
Published on 10/7/2024
Published on 9/20/2024
New HCV testing guidelines aim to increase screening among exposed infants
Published on 10/7/2021
Projected Long-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Outcomes Associated With Hepatitis C Virus
Published on 7/8/2021
Linkage to Care Leads to More Hepatitis C Treatment for Pregnant Women
Published on 6/17/2021
Comorbidities May Result in Longer Duration of Positive COVID-19 PCR Tests
Published on 2/14/2020
Few Perinatally Exposed Infants Receive Recommended Hep C Testing
Published on 12/11/2019
Only 30% of Youths with Identified Substance Use Tested for HCV
Published on 12/10/2019
Researchers Call for Greater Hep C Screening for Young Drug Users
View full list of 14 media mentions.