Krista Francine Huybrechts, PhD
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Epidemiology - Boston University School of Public Health
Biography
Krista F. Huybrechts, M.S., Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an epidemiologist in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She also holds an appointment as adjunct Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health. Her research centers on the utilization, comparative safety and effectiveness of prescription medications in pregnant women and their offspring, and on studying the outcomes of medications for mental health disorders in vulnerable populations. She also has a special interest in research methodology and innovative research applications in relation to both these fields of study. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Society of Pharmacoepidemiology and Therapeutic Risk Management and is a member of FDA’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee.
Her research centers on the utilization, comparative safety and effectiveness of prescription medications in pregnant women and their offspring (www.harvardpreg.org), and on studying the outcomes of medications for mental health disorders in vulnerable populations. She also has a special interest in research methodology and innovative research applications in relation to both these fields of study.
Dr. Huybrechts graduated magna cum laude with a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Antwerp, Belgium where she also worked as a researcher in health economics. Prior to completing a doctoral degree in epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, Dr. Huybrechts held several positions in pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research, both in Europe and the US. Her research projects focused primarily on psychiatry and neurology, and covered a broad spectrum of research designs, including clinical trials, naturalistic studies, retrospective data analyses, and decision-analytic simulation models.
Education
- Boston University School of Public Health, PhD Field of Study: Epidemiology
- University of Antwerp, MS Field of Study: Economics
- University of Antwerp, BS Field of Study: Economics
Publications
- Published on 2/13/2025
Brett J, Cesta CE, Gillies MB, Bateman BT, Chan A, Cheng M, Cho Y, Choi EY, Cohen JM, Donald S, Furu K, Gissler M, Gomes T, Havard A, Hernandez-Diaz S, Hsieh M, Huybrechts KF, Karlsson P, Kelty E, Lai E, Ledlie S, Wang T, Leinonen MK, Parkin L, Reutfors J, Shin JY, Su C, Varney B, Wong I, Man K, Zoega H. Global trends in analgesic opioid use in pregnancy: A retrospective cohort study. Anesthesiology. 2025 Feb 13. PMID: 39946665.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 12/18/2024
Anike O, Zhang Q, Bhasin S, Flanders WD, Getahun D, Haw JS, Huybrechts KF, Lash TL, McCracken CE, Roblin D, Silverberg MJ, Suglia SF, Tangpricha V, Vupputuri S, Goodman M. Association Between Gender-affirming Hormone Therapy and Measures of Glucose Metabolism: A Longitudinal Study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2024 Dec 18; 110(1):289-296. PMID: 38815002.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 12/2/2024
Wittström F, Cesta CE, Bateman BT, Bendix M, Bliddal M, Chan AYL, Cho Y, Choi EY, Cohen JM, Donald S, Gissler M, Havard A, Hernandez-Diaz S, Huybrechts KF, Kollhorst B, Lai EC, Leinonen MK, Li BMH, Man KKC, Ng VWS, Parkin L, Pazzagli L, Rasmussen L, Rotem RS, Schink T, Shin JY, Tran DT, Wong ICK, Zoega H, Reutfors J. Lithium Use During Pregnancy in 14 Countries. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Dec 02; 7(12):e2451117. PMID: 39680408.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 12/1/2024
Rotem RS, Weisskopf MG, Bateman B, Huybrechts K, Hernández-Diáz S. Maternal periconception hyperglycemia, preconception diabetes, and risk of major congenital malformations in offspring. Hum Reprod. 2024 Dec 01; 39(12):2816-2829. PMID: 39406385.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/28/2024
Adomi M, McElrath TF, Hernández-Díaz S, Huybrechts KF. Reply to 'TNF-a inhibitors and preeclampsia: assessing the evidence for risk reduction'. J Hypertens. 2025 Jan 01; 43(1):182. PMID: 39625004.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/13/2024
Brown JP, Yland JJ, Williams PL, Huybrechts KF, Hernández-Díaz S. Accounting for Twins and Other Multiple Births in Perinatal Studies of Live Births Conducted Using Healthcare Administration Data. Epidemiology. 2025 Mar 01; 36(2):165-173. PMID: 39887117.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/15/2024
Bea S, Huybrechts KF, Edrees HH, Basham CA, Vine SM, Glynn RJ, Bateman BT, Bykov K. Opioid Overdose in Patients With Concomitant Use of Tramadol and Clopidogrel vs Alternative Antiplatelet Agents. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2024 Oct 15; 84(16):1578-1581. PMID: 39384265.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/7/2024
Shupler M, Huybrechts K, Leung M, Wei Y, Schwartz J, Hernandez-Diaz S, Papatheodorou S. The association of short-term increases in ambient PM2.5 and temperature exposures with stillbirth: racial/ethnic disparities among Medicaid recipients. Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Oct 07; 193(10):1372-1383. PMID: 38770979.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/24/2024
Zhu Y, Hernandez-Diaz S, Bateman BT, Gray KJ, Alt EM, Straub L, Taylor LG, Ouellet-Hellstrom R, Ma Y, Qiang Y, Vine S, Mogun H, Hua W, Huybrechts KF. Development and validation of claims-based algorithms for estimating gestational age of spontaneous abortion and termination. Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Sep 24. PMID: 39317693.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/20/2024
Thai TN, Smolinski NE, Nduaguba S, Bird S, Straub L, Bateman BT, Hernandez-Diaz S, Huybrechts KF, Rasmussen SA, Winterstein AG. Development and Validation of an Algorithm to Predict Stillbirth Gestational Age in Medicaid Billing Records. Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Sep 20. PMID: 39307537.
Read At: PubMed
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