Danielle C Ompad

Professor of Epidemiology

Professional overview

Dr. Danielle Ompad is an epidemiologist whose work is focused in the areas of urban health, HIV, illicit drug use, and adult access to vaccines. With respect to illicit drug use, her work has spanned the entire natural history of addiction – from initiation to cessation, with particular attention paid to risk for infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, and STIs.  She has primarily worked with people who use heroin, crack, cocaine, and/or club drugs.  

In New York City, she has been examining heroin cessation among current, former, and relapsed heroin users. Working with Alliance for Public Health and the Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy, she analyzes harm reduction service utilization among people who inject drugs, in order to optimize service delivery in Ukraine.  Since 2013, she has served as faculty for the Fogarty-funded New York State International Training and Research Program with the goal of building research capacity in Ukraine.

Dr. Ompad’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-funded study aims to determine if herpes simplex 1 and 2 infections explain racial disparities in HIV incidence among a cohort of young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (YMSM).  In addition, Dr. Ompad and colleagues are assessing HPV infection prevalence, persistence, and clearance among this same cohort.

Education

BS, Biology, Bowie State University, Bowie, MD

MHS, Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

PhD, Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Honors and awards

Excellence in Public Health Teaching Award, New York University (2014)

Excellence in Public Health Teaching Award, New York University (2013)

National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse Scientific Development Travel Fellowship (2010)

Delta Omega Honorary Society, Alpha Chapter (2002)

Areas of research and study

Epidemiology

HIV/AIDS

Infectious Diseases

Social Determinants of Health

STIs

Substance Abuse

Vaccines

Publications

Publications

Depression among people living with tuberculosis and tuberculosis/HIV coinfection in Ukraine: a cross-sectional study

Macro-level determinants of gender differences in the prevalence of major depression and alcohol use disorder in the United States and across Europe

The impact of the 2014 military conflict in the east of Ukraine and the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea among patients receiving opioid agonist therapies

Meteliuk, A., Sazonova, Y., Goldmann, E., Xu, S., Liutyi, V., Liakh, T., Spirina, T., Lekholetova, M., Islam, Z., & Ompad, D. C. (n.d.).

Publication year

2024

Journal title

Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment

Volume

160

10.1016/j.josat.2024.209312

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Opioid agonist therapies (OAT) for people with opioid use disorders (OUD) have been available in Ukraine since 2004. This study assessed the effect of 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine on OAT re-enrollment and retention in conflict areas. Methods: We analyzed the Ukraine national registry of OAT patients containing 1868 people with OUD receiving OAT as of January 2014 in conflict areas (Donetsk, Luhansk, and the Autonomous Republic [AR] of the Crimea). We developed logistic regression models to assess the correlates of re-enrollment of OAT patients in government-controlled areas (GCA) from conflict areas and retention on OAT at 12 months after re-enrollment. Results: Overall, 377 (20.2 %) patients were re-enrolled at an OAT site in a GCA from confict areas, of whom 182 (48.3 %) were retained on OAT through 2021. Correlates of re-enrollment were residing in Donetsk (adjusted odds ratios (aOR) = 7.06; 95 % CI: 4.97–10.20) or Luhansk (aOR = 6.20; 95 % CI: 4.38–8.93) vs. AR Crimea; age 18–34 (aOR = 2.03; 95 % CI: 1.07–3.96) or 35–44 (aOR = 2.09; 95 % CI: 1.24–3.71) vs. ≥55 years, and being on optimal (aOR = 1.78; 95 % CI: 1.33–2.39) or high OAT dosing (aOR = 2.76; 95 % CI: 1.93–3.96) vs. low dosing. Correlates of retention were drug use experience 15–19 years (aOR = 3.69; 95 % CI: 1.47–9.49) vs. <14 years of drug use; take-home (aOR = 3.42; 95 % CI: 1.99–5.96) vs. daily on-site dosing, and optimal (aOR = 2.19; 95 % CI:1.05–4.72) vs. low OAT dosing. Conclusion: Our study showed that one-fifth of patients were re-enrolled at sites in GCA areas, less than half of re-enrolled patients were retained. Disruption of OAT has implications for drug-, HIV-, and HCV-related morbidity and mortality. Funding: AM was funded by NIH-funded grant D43TW010562; DCO was funded by the NIDA-funded Center for Drug Use and HIV|HCV Research (P30DA011041).

Creation and Validation of a New Socio-built Environment Index Measure of Opioid Overdose Risk for Use in Both Non-urban and Urban Settings

How the rural risk environment underpins hepatitis C risk: Qualitative findings from rural southern Illinois, United States

I Don’t Believe a Person Has to Die When Trying to Get High: Overdose Prevention and Response Strategies in Rural Illinois

The effectiveness of malaria camps as part of the malaria control program in Odisha, India

Conceptualizing the Socio-Built Environment: An Expanded Theoretical Framework to Promote a Better Understanding of Risk for Nonmedical Opioid Overdose Outcomes in Urban and Non-Urban Settings

Copycat and lookalike edible cannabis product packaging in the United States

No Good Time Without Drugs: Qualitative Study Among Nightlife Attendees in Tbilisi, Georgia

Predictors of Anal High-Risk HPV Infection Across Time in a Cohort of Young Adult Sexual Minority Men and Transgender Women in New York City, 2015–2020

PrEP Care Continuum Engagement Among Persons Who Inject Drugs: Rural and Urban Differences in Stigma and Social Infrastructure

Presence of Content Appealing to Youth on Cannabis-Infused Edibles Packaging

Principles and Metrics for Evaluating Oregon’s Innovative Drug Decriminalization Measure

Netherland, J., Kral, A. H., Ompad, D. C., Davis, C. S., Bluthenthal, R. N., Dasgupta, N., Gilbert, M., Morgan, R., & Wheelock, H. (n.d.).

Publication year

2022

Journal title

Journal of Urban Health

Volume

99

Issue

2

Page(s)

328-331

10.1007/s11524-022-00606-w

Structural and community changes during COVID-19 and their effects on overdose precursors among rural people who use drugs: a mixed-methods analysis

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Drug Use Behaviors, Fentanyl Exposure, and Harm Reduction Service Support among People Who Use Drugs in Rural Settings

Acceptability and Effectiveness of Hepatitis C Care at Syringe Service Programs for People Who Inject Drugs in New York City

Dominican Provider Attitudes Towards HPV Testing for Cervical Cancer Screening and, Current Challenges to Cervical Cancer Prevention in the Dominican Republic: a Mixed Methods Study

Dominican Provider Practices for Cervical Cancer Screening in Santo Domingo and Monte Plata Provinces

How urban and rural built environments influence the health attitudes and behaviors of people who use drugs

Racial and ethnic disparities in "stop-and-frisk" experience among young sexual minority men in New York City

The effectiveness of malaria camps as part of the Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran (DAMaN) program in Odisha, India: study protocol for a cluster-assigned quasi-experimental study

"they look at us like junkies": Influences of drug use stigma on the healthcare engagement of people who inject drugs in New York City

Barriers to Cervical Cancer Screening and Treatment in the Dominican Republic: Perspectives of Focus Group Participants in the Santo Domingo Area

Pandemic preparedness and hard to reach populations