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 10/1/2025
Zhu Y, Anand P, Sarpatwari A, Hernández-Díaz S, Bykov K, Kesselheim AS, Avorn J, Vine SM, Adomi M, DiCesare EC, Mahesri M, Zakoul H, Mogun H, Toyserkani GA, LaCivita C, Zhou EH, Dal Pan GJ, Huybrechts KF. Isotretinoin Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy and Pregnancy Incidence. JAMA Intern Med. 2025 Oct 01; 185(10):1289-1291. PMID: 40690251.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/15/2025
Bykov K, Basham CA, Khan NF, Glynn RJ, Belitkar S, Vine SM, Bea S, Bateman BT, Huybrechts KF. Comparative risks of opioid overdose in patients on oxycodone initiating selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Epidemiology. 2025 Sep 15. PMID: 40951958.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/5/2025
Bea S, Basham CA, Edrees HH, Huybrechts KF, Vine SM, Glynn RJ, Bateman BT, Bykov K. Risk of Opioid Overdose Associated with Concurrent Use of Hydrocodone and CYP3A4-inhibiting Calcium Channel Blockers: A Population-based Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Sep 05. PMID: 40908920.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/4/2025
Damkier P, Huybrechts KF, Nordeng H. Big Data in the Assessment of Medication Safety in Pregnancy: Opportunities and Challenges. Paediatr Drugs. 2025 Nov; 27(6):673-677. PMID: 40906238.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/1/2025
Ng S, Brown JP, Straub L, Bateman B, Gray KJ, Huybrechts KF, Hernández-Díaz S. Leveraging Health Insurance Claims Data to Complement the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Surveillance System for Birth Defects. Birth Defects Res. 2025 Sep; 117(9):e2523. PMID: 40892020.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 8/27/2025
Grace Lin CW, Bateman BT, Straub L, Hernández-Díaz S, Vine SM, Jones HE, Connery HS, Davis JM, Gray KJ, Lester B, Suarez EA, Sujan AC, Terplan M, Huybrechts KF. Buprenorphine and Methadone Discontinuation During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: A Nationwide Cohort Study. Am J Psychiatry. 2025 Aug 27; appiajp20241127. PMID: 40859701.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 8/7/2025
Leonard SA, Siadat S, Huybrechts KF, Main EK, Hlatky MA, Hernández-Díaz S, Bateman BT. Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Labetalol Versus Nifedipine for Treatment of Chronic Hypertension During Pregnancy. JACC Adv. 2025 Sep; 4(9):102054. PMID: 40772922.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 8/5/2025
Thai TN, Smolinski NE, Nduaguba S, Zhu Y, Bird S, Straub L, Bateman BT, Hernández-Díaz 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. 2025 Aug 05; 194(8):2295-2303. PMID: 39307537.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 8/1/2025
Moses-Kolko EL, Straub L, Fung K, Huybrechts KF. Reply to Correspondence "Beyond Aggregate Risk: Drug- and Organ-Specific Nuances in Counseling on Antidepressant Teratogenicity" (Tsai et al. 2025). Birth Defects Res. 2025 Aug; 117(8):e2522. PMID: 40874662.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 7/5/2025
Choi HM, Huybrechts KF, Hernandez-Diaz S, Qiu X, Leung M, James P, Shupler M, Huang W, Wei Y, Zanobetti A, McDougle CJ, Schwartz J, Coull B, Weisskopf M, Papatheodorou S. Preconception, prenatal and early childhood exposure to green space and risk of neurodevelopmental delays: a national cohort study among Medicaid enrollees. Environ Int. 2025 Aug; 202:109666. PMID: 40639188.
Read At: PubMed
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