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)
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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, access and quality of addiction treatment, and morbidity and mortality outcomes in high-risk populations (e.g., military/Veterans, persons with traumatic brain injury or other disabilities). Prior to joining BUSPH in 2022, she spent a decade at 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. 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.

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 7/28/2026

    Kinney AR, Pickett TC, Bowles AO, Forster JE, Adams RS, Baugh CM, DeGraba T, Caban J, Lyle A, Smith A, Tung M, Wal I, Brenner LA. Applying a Novel Diagnostic Code System to Identify Postconcussive Symptom Subgroups Among Service Members With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2026 Jul 28. PMID: 42509605.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/22/2026

    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. 2026 Jul 22; 172(4):353-360. PMID: 40280725.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/19/2026

    Hodgkin D, Bolton RE, Adams RS, Bauer MR, Moresco N, Carpenter J, Highland KB, Larson MJ. Clinician characteristics and the use of nonpharmacological treatment for acute musculoskeletal pain in an active-duty military population. J Pain. 2026 Jul 19; 48:106386. PMID: 42472619.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 6/26/2026

    Adams RS, Huntington N, Carpenter J, Linton A, Moresco N, Dams-O'Connor K, Kumar RG, Highland KB, Larson MJ. Occupational Risk of Low-Level Blast Exposure and Health Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study of Postdeployment Army Enlisted Active Duty Soldiers. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2026 Jun 26. PMID: 42440265.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 6/23/2026

    Adams RS, Reif S, Mohamed Y, Stewart MT, LaRochelle MR, Heaphy D, Corrigan JD, Khorassani FS, Morgan JR. Alcohol use disorder diagnoses among commercially insured US adults from 2016 to 2023, by disability status and sex. Drug Alcohol Depend Rep. 2026 Sep; 20:100461. PMID: 42440433.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/4/2026

    Mandavia AD, Coppola EC, Maloney M, Portnoy GA, Presseau C, Iverson KM, Adams RS, Livingston NA. Differences in Intimate Partner Violence Screening, Violence Exposure, and Risk of Lethality Among Veterans with Substance Use Disorders. J Gen Intern Med. 2026 May 04. PMID: 42082854.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/1/2026

    Huntington N, Highland KB, Moresco N, Carpenter J, Bauer MR, Costantino RC, Larson MJ, Adams RS. Post-Deployment Polypharmacy and Opioid Receipt Among Active Duty Soldiers Returning from Afghanistan and Iraq: A Retrospective Study. Mil Med. 2026 May 01; 191(5-6):e938-e944. PMID: 41124337.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/4/2026

    Adams RS, Forster JE, Hoffmire CA, Gradus JL, Hostetter TA, Larson MJ, Schneider AL, Smith AA, Walsh CG, Brenner LA. Trends in unintentional injury death among post-9/11 Army Veterans who do and do not use Veteran Health Administration services. Inj Epidemiol. 2026 Mar 04; 13(1). PMID: 41782147.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/4/2026

    Bowles AO, Brenner LA, Adams RS, Baugh CM, Degraba TJ, Kinney AR, Caban J, Lyle A, Smith A, Tung M, Wal I, Pickett TC. Challenges with Tracking Post Concussive Symptoms Using the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory in Active Duty Service Members with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Mil Med. 2026 Mar 04. PMID: 41778638.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/26/2026

    Strombotne KL, Palani S, Li Y, Podlogar M, Bourgeois J, Lauver M, Schaper E, Hernandez G, Adams RS, Garrido MM. Suicide Risk and Health Care Utilization Among Veterans Contacting the Veterans Crisis Line: Retrospective Cohort Study. Psychiatr Serv. 2026 May 01; 77(5):397-404. PMID: 41742357.

     Read At: PubMed

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