Ziming Xuan
Profiles

Ziming Xuan, ScD, SM, MA

Professor, Community Health Sciences - Boston University School of Public Health

617-358-1376
zxuan@bu.edu
Crosstown Center - CT426
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Biography

Ziming Xuan is a Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences and the Department of Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health. He is a faculty member of the Primary Care Academic Fellowship Program, and a faculty member of the Transformative Training Program in Addiction Science (TTPAS) at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. He is a faculty member of the Injury Prevention Center, and a member of the Health Equity Accelerator at Boston Medical Center. He is a Frederick Pardee Faculty Research Fellow at Boston University.

He is a social epidemiologist who is interested in understanding the influence of social-contextual determinants, especially policy determinants on health, particularly among vulnerable populations (i.e., youth, patients with substance abuse, and women). He is also interested in the methodologies involved in social-behavioral interventions to promote healthy behavioral changes and enhance community well-being. His research interests include health policies related to alcohol, marijuana, other substance use and guns, youth health, alcohol advertising, impaired driving, substance use disorders, mental health and addiction. He received his Doctor of Science Degree (Sc.D.) in public health in 2010 and Master’s Degree (S.M.) in Biostatistics in 2008 from Harvard University.

He has led multiple R01 studies examining policy determinants on substance use and injury outcomes in the United States, and has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Justice, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the American Cancer Society. He has co-authored over 180 peer-reviewed articles.

Dr. Xuan is currently serving as a member of the SPH Appointments and Promotions Committee and the SPH Doctoral Committee. His prior university activities include serving in the Faculty Senate, and the Boston University Faculty Council Nominating Committee. At Boston University School of Public Health, he has been teaching SB822: Quantitative Methods for Program Evaluation. He is currently the Director of Health Communication and Promotion certificate for the MPH program at the school.

Dr. Xuan has provided research expertise to various health agencies including the World Health Organization, and Innovations for Poverty Action among others. His research has been featured by Reuters, CNN, US News & World Report, and the Boston Globe among others. Dr. Xuan has served in study sections of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, including special study section on COVID-19 and Consequences of Alcohol Use. Currently he is serving on the editorial board for the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs and the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Other Positions

  • Professor, Epidemiology - Boston University School of Public Health
  • - Boston Medical Center

Education

  • Harvard University, ScD Field of Study: Social & Behavioral Sciences
  • University of Connecticut, MA Field of Study: Communication Sciences and Disorders
  • Nanjing University, BA Field of Study: English
  • Harvard University, SM/ScM Field of Study: Biostatistics

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHPH845
  • SPHPH851
  • SPHSB822

Publications

  • Published on 12/21/2024

    Austad K, Thai C, Zavatti A, Nguyen N, Bautista-Hurtado D, Kenney P, Lugo N, Lee JH, Lanney H, Xuan Z, Cordova-Ramos EG, Drainoni ML, Jack B. Tools to improve discharge equity: Protocol for the pilot TIDE trial. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2025 Feb; 43:101419. PMID: 39810841.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/29/2024

    Wu J, Ranker LR, Origgi JM, Ma J, Hao D, Benjamin EJ, Cornacchione Ross J, Xuan Z, Wijaya D, Fetterman JL, Hong T. Protecting historically marginalized groups or targeted marketing? A computational analysis of individuals engaging with public and protected cigar-branded tweets. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2025 Jan 01; 266:112516. PMID: 39689499.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/12/2024

    Ranker LR, Tofu DA, Lu M, Wu J, Bhatnagar A, Robertson RM, Wijaya D, Hong T, Fetterman JL, Xuan Z. Concurrent Mentions of Vaping and Alcohol on Twitter: Latent Dirichlet Analysis. J Med Internet Res. 2024 Nov 12; 26:e51870. PMID: 39531640.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/28/2024

    Cummins ER, Walley AY, Xuan Z, Yan S, Schoenberger SF, Formica SW, Bagley SM, Beletsky L, Green TC, Lambert A, Carroll JJ. Use and perceptions of involuntary civil commitment among post-overdose outreach staff in Massachusetts, United States: A mixed-methods study. Addiction. 2025 Feb; 120(2):327-334. PMID: 39467382.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/10/2024

    Holt MK, Ranker LR, Kraus AD, Xuan Z, Greif Green J, Katz-Wise SL, Morales K. Recruitment of a U.S. Nation-Wide Sample of Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth. J Adolesc Health. 2024 Dec; 75(6):969-973. PMID: 39387727.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/3/2024

    Wu J, Trifiro BM, Ranker LR, Origgi JM, Benjamin EJ, Robertson RM, Bhatnagar A, Stokes AC, Xuan Z, Wijaya D, Plummer B, Cornacchione Ross J, Fetterman JL, Hong T. Health Warnings on Instagram Advertisements for Synthetic Nicotine E-Cigarettes and Engagement. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Sep 03; 7(9):e2434434. PMID: 39269702.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/3/2024

    Mahtani SL, Viswanath K, Gupte HA, Mandal G, Jagiasi D, Chawla R, D'Costa M, Xuan Z, Minsky S, Ramanadhan S. Adapting and Evaluating a Brief Advice Tobacco Cessation Intervention in High-reach, Low-resource Settings in India: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2024 Sep 03; 13:e57236. PMID: 39225384.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/1/2024

    Xuan Z, Walley AY, Yan S, Chatterjee A, Green TG, Pollini RA. Pharmacy Naloxone Standing Order and Community Opioid Fatality Rates Over Time. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Aug 01; 7(8):e2427236. PMID: 39207758.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 6/1/2024

    Rosen EM, Trangenstein PJ, Fullem PL, Yeh JC, Jernigan DH, Xuan Z. Interrupted Time Series Analysis of Bar/Tavern Closing Hours and Violent Crime. JAMA Intern Med. 2024 Jun 01; 184(6):612-618. PMID: 38557765.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/4/2024

    Katz-Wise SL, Ranker LR, Korkodilos R, Conti J, Nelson KM, Xuan Z, Gordon AR. Will all youth answer sexual orientation and gender-related survey questions? An analysis of missingness in a large U.S. survey of adolescents and young adults. Psychol Methods. 2024 Apr 04. PMID: 38573664.

     Read At: PubMed

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