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Abigail
Winiker
, PhD, MSPH

Assistant Scientist

Contact Info

Research Interests

Harm reduction, substance use disorder, opioid use, drug treatment, recovery, drug decriminalization, overdose prevention, carceral violence, resilience, community-based participatory research, sexual/gender minority health, drug policy 

Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2024
MSPH
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
2018
Overview

Dr. Winiker (she/her) is an Assistant Scientist in the Department of Health Policy and Management and the Program Director for the Bloomberg Overdose Prevention Initiative. She is trained as a behavioral scientist, health educator, and harm reduction practitioner. She strives to use research as a tool to advocate for evidence-based overdose prevention efforts, more effective substance use treatment/recovery infrastructure, and drug decriminalization policy. As a member of the Overdose Prevention Initiative, she provides guidance to states and local decision-makers on Opioid Settlement Fund spending to support evidence-based abatement efforts across the country. 

Select Publications
  • Winiker, A. K., Ching, J., Patel, E., Sluth, K., Grieb, S., Kirk, G., Mehta, S., Genberg, B. (2024). “Especially being homeless, they just think you’re infected with COVID or something”: A qualitative exploration of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on people experiencing homelessness with a history of injection drug use in Baltimore, Maryland.” Housing Policy Debate.

  • Winiker, A. K. Rouhani, S., Zhang, L., Tomko, C., Silberzahn, B., Sherman, S., Bandara, S., (2024). “What I should be doing is harm reduction, if I'm doing my job right”: Engagement with harm reduction principles among prosecutors enacting drug policy reform in the United States International Journal of Drug Policy. 

  • Winiker, A. K., Heidari, O., Pollock, S., Sodder, S., Tobin, K. (2023). Barriers and facilitators to assessing and treating trauma in primary care: Perspectives from prescribers of medications for opioid use disorder. Substance Use and Misuse

  • Winiker, A. K., Schneider, K., Hamilton White, R., O’Rourke, A., Grieb, S., Sherman, S., Allen, S. (2023). A qualitative exploration of barriers to drug treatment services among people who inject drugs in West Virginia. Harm Reduction Journal. 

Projects
Bloomberg Overdose Prevention Initiative
An exploration of resilience and call for a strengths-based approach to research and practice among people who inject drugs
Program Evaluation of Casa de Zulma: a supportive housing program in Los Angeles for transgender women (TGW) and its impact on substance use and violence outcomes