Danielle C Ompad

Vice Dean for Academic Affairs

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

Access to and use of health services among undocumented Mexican immigrants in a US urban area

Correlates of illicit methadone use in New York City: A cross-sectional study

Hunger and health among undocumented Mexican migrants in a US urban area

Mortality risk among recent-onset injection drug users in five U.S. cities

Predictors of influenza vaccination in an urban community during a national shortage

Prevalence and correlates of previous hepatitis B vaccination and infection among young drug-users in New York City

Project VIVA: A multilevel community-based intervention to increase influenza vaccination rates among hard-to-reach populations in New York City

Sampling and recruitment in multilevel studies among marginalized urban populations: The IMPACT studies

Urban health issues

Urban health systems

Access to influenza vaccine in East Harlem and the Bronx during a national vaccine shortage

Convenience is the key to hepatitis A and B vaccination uptake among young adult injection drug users

Defining Neighborhood Boundaries for Urban Health Research

Identifying Injection Drug Users at Risk of Nonfatal Overdose

Impact of social network characteristics on high-risk sexual behaviors among non-injection drug users

Pandemic preparedness and hard to reach populations.

Perceived stress among a workforce 6 months following hurricane Katrina

Rapid vaccine distribution in nontraditional settings: lessons learned from project VIVA

Risk factors for methadone outside treatment programs: Implications for HIV treatment among injection drug users

Social determinants of the health of urban populations: Methodologic considerations

Strategies for improving influenza immunization rates among hard-to-reach populations

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in a New Orleans workforce following Hurricane Katrina

Urban as a determinant of health

Urbanicity, urbanization, and the urban environment

Determinants of influenza vaccination in hard-to-reach urban populations