Courtney A McKnight

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Clinical Associate Professor of Epidemiology

Dr. Courtney McKnight is a Principal Investigator specializing in mixed methods research focused on the epidemiology of drug use, opioid overdose, HIV and HCV infection. Dr. McKnight has over 20 years of experience conducting public health research related to drug use, as well as field experience as a harm reduction service provider.

Prior to joining NYU, Dr. McKnight served as the assistant director of research at the Chemical Dependency Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she was an investigator and project director on numerous federally funded research studies, including evaluations of syringe services programs; investigations of the drivers that contribute to disparate rates of HIV and HCV; and interventions to increase access to HIV and HCV testing and care.

Previous to Dr. McKnight’s work in research, she directed a harm reduction program for women who use drugs and volunteered at a syringe services program in New Jersey.

Dr. McKnight received her DrPH from the City University of New York Graduate Center, her Master of Public Health from Hunter College, and her Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Rutgers University. Her dissertation examined the impact of Medicaid coverage of methadone and buprenorphine on treatment access for opioid dependent beneficiaries.

Dr. McKnight’s current research interests include examining the shifting landscape of illicit opioids, including the increasing prevalence of illicitly manufactured fentanyl, and risk environments of people who use drugs.

Education

BA, Women's Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

MPH, Community Health Education, Hunter College, New York, NY

DrPH, The City University of New York, New York, NY

Areas of research and study

Behavioral Science

Drug addiction

Epidemiology

Harm reduction

Hepatitis

HIV/AIDS

Infectious Diseases

Mixed-Methods Research

Opioid

Qualitative Research

Social epidemiology

Substance Abuse

Publications

Anti-vaccine attitudes and COVID-19 vaccine status at the end of the U.S. public health emergency

Engagement in hepatitis C virus cascade of care and factors associated with testing among people who inject drugs in Iran

Fentanyl Polysubstance Use Patterns and Their Associations With Hepatitis C Virus, Skin and Soft Tissue Infections, and Non-Fatal Overdose Among People Who Inject Drugs in New York City

Harms associated with injecting in public spaces: a global systematic review and meta-analysis

Heroin, Fentanyl, Intentional Fentanyl Use and HIV Transmission in a Community-Recruited Sample of Persons Who Inject Drugs, New York City: 2021–2023

Naloxone Carriage Among People Who Inject Drugs in New York City

COVID-19 vaccination uptake and determinants of booster vaccination among persons who inject drugs in New York City

Facilitators and barriers to monitoring and evaluation at syringe service programs

Hepatitis C treatment outcomes among people who inject drugs experiencing unstable versus stable housing: Systematic review and meta-analysis

COVID-19 vaccination and HIV transmission among persons who inject drugs during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City

Field Testing the “Avoid the Needle” Intervention for Persons at Risk for Transitioning to Injecting Drug Use in Tallinn, Estonia and New York City, USA

Global epidemiology of abortion among female sex workers: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression

HIV risk and prevention among clients of a delivery-based harm reduction service during an HIV outbreak among people who use drugs in northern rural Minnesota, USA

Non-fatal drug overdose among persons who inject drugs during first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City: Prevalence, risk factors

Understanding intentionality of fentanyl use and drug overdose risk: Findings from a mixed methods study of people who inject drugs in New York City

Modeling HIV transmission among persons who inject drugs (PWID) at the “End of the HIV Epidemic” and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Recurrent Injecting Drug Use as a Mediator between Psychiatric Disorder and Non-Fatal Overdose

Thick trust, thin trust, social capital, and health outcomes among trans women of color in New York City

Is your syringe services program cost-saving to society? A methodological case study

Hepatitis C incidence and prevalence among Puerto Rican people who use drugs in New York City

Toward the Interpretation of Positive Testing for Fentanyl and Its Analogs in Real Hair Samples: Preliminary Considerations

Alternative kinship structures, resilience and social support among immigrant trans Latinas in the USA

Geographic distribution of risk ("Hotspots") for HIV, HCV, and drug overdose among persons who use drugs in New York City: The importance of local history