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, Epstein RL, Pei P, Linas BP, Ciaranello AL. Cost-Effectiveness of Strategies for Treatment Timing for Perinatally Acquired Hepatitis C Virus. JAMA Pediatr. 2024 Mar 11. 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 Feb 07. PMID: 38326950.
Published on 2/1/2023Epstein RL, Pramanick T, Baptiste D, Buzzee B, Reese PP, Linas BP, Sawinski D. A Microsimulation Study of the Cost-Effectiveness of Hepatitis C Virus Screening Frequencies in Hemodialysis Centers. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2023 Feb 01; 34(2):205-219. PMID: 36735375.
Published on 12/1/2022Lodi S, Klein M, Rauch A, Epstein R, Wittkop L, Logan R, Rentsch CT, Justice AC, Touloumi G, Berenguer J, Jarrin I, Egger M, Puoti M, D'Arminio Monforte A, Gill J, Salmon Ceron D, van Sighem A, Linas B, van der Valk M, Hernán MA. Sustained virological response after treatment with direct antiviral agents in individuals with HIV and hepatitis C co-infection. J Int AIDS Soc. 2022 Dec; 25(12):e26048. PMID: 36562643.
Published on 8/24/2022Barocas JA, Savinkina A, Lodi S, Epstein RL, Bouton TC, Sperring H, Hsu HE, Jacobson KR, Schechter-Perkins EM, Linas BP, White LF. Projected Long-Term Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Hepatitis C Outcomes in the United States: A Modeling Study. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Aug 24; 75(1):e1112-e1119. PMID: 34499124.
Published on 6/30/2022Sperring H, Hofman M, Hsu HE, Xiao Y, Keohane EA, Lodi S, Marathe J, Epstein RL. Risk Factors for Admission Within a Hospital-Based COVID-19 Home Monitoring Program. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Jul; 9(7):ofac320. PMID: 35899280.
Published on 6/18/2022Epstein RL, Wang J, White LF, Kapadia SN, Morgan JR, Bao Y, Linas BP. Medicaid Hepatitis C Virus Treatment Policies: Impact on Testing and Treatment in the Commercially Insured. Am J Prev Med. 2022 Sep; 63(3):e87-e98. PMID: 35725599.
Published on 5/22/2022Nguemeni Tiako MJ, Meinhofer A, Friedman A, South EC, Epstein RL, Meisel ZF, Morgan JR. Buprenorphine uptake during pregnancy following the 2017 guidelines update on prenatal opioid use disorder. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 Sep; 227(3):544-546.e1. PMID: 35613648.
Published on 5/13/2022O'Donnell A, Pham N, Battisti L, Epstein R, Nunes D, Sawinski D, Lodi S. Estimating the causal effect of treatment with direct-acting antivirals on kidney function among individuals with hepatitis C virus infection. PLoS One. 2022; 17(5):e0268478. PMID: 35560032.
Published on 7/1/2021Epstein RL, Moloney C, Garfinkel J, Saia K, Wachman EM, Lodi S, Pelton SI. Enhancing Linkage to Hepatitis C Virus Treatment Following Pregnancy in Women Identified During Perinatal Care. Hepatol Commun. 2021 Sep; 5(9):1543-1554. PMID: 34510828.
Media Mentions
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
Published on 12/19/2018
Why Aren't More Users Of Opioids Or Meth Screened For Hepatitis C?
Published on 12/3/2018
Finding and Treating the Young Hepatitis C Patient
Published on 11/9/2018
Universal HCV Screening on the Way?
Published on 10/19/2018
Only One-Third of Opioid-Addicted Teens and Young Adults Get Tested for HCV
View full list of 10 media mentions.