Rachel Adams
Profiles

Rachel Sayko Adams, PhD, MPH

Research Associate Professor, Health Law, Policy & Management - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 358-2809
adamsr@bu.edu
Talbot (T Bldg)
View Full Profile at BUMC

Biography

Rachel Sayko Adams, PhD, MPH is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Health Law, Policy & Management at BUSPH. She is a proud alum of BUSPH where she completed her Master in Public Health in Health Policy & Management followed by a PhD in Social Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Dr. Adams is a health services researcher with expertise studying substance use, disparities in treatment, and morbidity and mortality outcomes in high-risk populations (e.g., military/Veterans, persons with traumatic brain injury or other disabilities). She is coming to BUSPH from the Institute for Behavioral Health at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy & Management, where she led a portfolio of addiction health services research for over a decade. She has led studies from the National Institutes of Health (i.e, NIMH, NIAAA, NIDA, and NCCIH), the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), and Uniformed Services University at the Department of Defense. Dr. Adams has an appointment as a health services researcher with the Veterans Health Administration Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center in Aurora, Colorado and as an Investigator with the Partnered Evidence-based Policy Resource Center at the VA Boston Healthcare System.

Dr. Adams is Multiple Principal Investigator (MPI) on a R01 from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Office of the Director at NIH which is integrating data from the Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration to enhance suicide prevention efforts for military members following deployment (Brenner/Adams). She is MPI of the Substance Use and Psychological Injury Combat Study - Pain Management (SUPIC), a longitudinal study examining the association of non-pharmacological treatments for pain management, as a complement or substitute to opioids, in relation to long-term health outcomes, funded by the Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at NIH (Larson/Adams). She was the Co-PI of the INROADS study, Intersecting Research on Opioid Misuse, Addiction, and Disability Services, which examined the intersection between addiction, disability, and service provision in an effort to address the rise of opioid use disorders among people with disabilities, funded by NIDILRR. In collaboration with researchers from the Uniformed Services University, Dr. Adams is the Site-PI on a study examining healthcare utilization and readiness outcomes among soldiers with post-deployment at-risk drinking, by multimorbidity class. She has completed studies on the health effects of deployment for military spouses and children, and the impact of early behavioral health treatment in reducing long term substance use and psychological health problems postdeployment.

Education

  • Brandeis University, PhD Field of Study: Social Policy
  • Brandeis University, MA Field of Study: Social Policy
  • Boston University, MPH Field of Study: Health Policy Management
  • Skidmore College, BA Field of Study: Sociology/Anthropology

Websites

Publications

  • Published on 9/7/2025

    Lee EH, Cirillo M, Solomon Z, Banaag A, Fuhrman B, Adams RS, Koehlmoos TP. Diagnosing prenatal alcohol exposure and fetal alcohol syndrome in military-connected children: Insights from US military data claims, 2016-2023. Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2025 Oct; 49(10):2213-2224. PMID: 40916352.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/21/2025

    Fonda JR, Loeffel LB, Livingston NA, Knoff AA, Bravman V, Gradus JL, Adams RS. Sex-Specific Associations Between Deployment-Related Traumatic Brain Injury and Nonfatal Drug Overdose Among a National Cohort of Post-9/11 Veterans. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2025 Aug 21. PMID: 40845918.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/11/2025

    Adams RS, Larson MJ, Moresco N, Ogan D, Setzer M, Ritter GA, Dufour S, Vest N, Milliken CS, Gray JC. Postdeployment At-Risk Drinking Among Active Duty Women: Health Care Utilization and Military Readiness Outcomes. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2025 Aug 11. PMID: 40788848.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/11/2025

    Flake E, Lee EH, Apilado KP, Adams RS, MacMahon A, Koehlmoos TP. Behavioral interventions for individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: A review of systematic reviews. Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2025 Sep; 49(9):2064-2075. PMID: 40789801.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/5/2025

    Brenner LA, Tung M, Forster JE, Kinney AR, Smith AA, Adams RS, Caban JJ, Wal I. Newly Identified Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts Among Military Service Members Following Traumatic Brain Injury, by Sex. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2025 Aug 05. PMID: 40845919.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/20/2025

    Corrigan JD, Alosco ML, van der Naalt J, Adams RS, Asken BM, Hinds S, Lequerica AH, Newcombe V, Tenovuo O, Valera E, Yurgelun-Todd D, Doperalski A, Awwad HO, Dams-O'Connor K, Maas AIR, McCrea MA, Umoh N, Manley GT. Retrospective Identification and Characterization of Traumatic Brain Injury-Recommendations from the 2024 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Traumatic Brain Injury Classification and Nomenclature Initiative Retrospective Classification Working Group. J Neurotrauma. 2025 Jul; 42(13-14):1086-1095. PMID: 40393476.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/25/2025

    Carpenter J, Adams RS, Linton A, Highland KB, Bauer M, Zolotusky G, Moresco N, Larson MJ. Initial opioid prescribing practices among providers treating an opioid-naïve US military sample. BMJ Mil Health. 2025 Apr 25. PMID: 40280725.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/19/2025

    Banducci AN, Mandavia AD, Bovin MJ, Adams RS, Maloney MA, Roth CE, McClain L, Livingston NA. Opioid overdose, suicide mortality, and premature death among veterans with alcohol or opioid use disorders: The impact of military sexual trauma. Addict Behav. 2025 Aug; 167:108330. PMID: 40262404.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/3/2025

    Stewart MT, Feltus SR, Andrews CM, Acevedo A, Thomas CP, Bratberg J, Horgan CM, Hodgkin D, Adams RS. Alcohol Use Disorder Medication Coverage and Utilization Management in Medicaid Managed Care Plans. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Mar 03; 8(3):e250695. PMID: 40080021.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/27/2025

    Huntington N, Larson MJ, Vest N, Highland KB, Moresco N, Ritter GA, Buchholz C, Adams RS. Profiles of Nonpharmacologic Treatment Receipt in the First 10?Weeks Following a New Back Pain Diagnosis Among Active Duty Soldiers: A Latent Class Analysis. Mil Med. 2025 Feb 27; 190(3-4):e690-e699. PMID: 39520121.

     Read At: PubMed

View 85 more publications:View Full Profile at BUMC

News & In the Media

View all profiles