Welcome to the Syndemics Lab. Under Lead Principal Investigator Benjamin P. Linas, we conduct research as part of Boston Medical Center.

Our team studies synergistic epidemics—syndemics—with a particular focus on Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and substance use disorders. Our work is centered on using simulation and cost-effectiveness analysis methods to evaluate current public health guidelines and policies, primarily through use of our simulation models, RESPOND and HEP-CE.

Researching Effective Strategies to Prevent Opioid Death (RESPOND) is a population-level, cohort-based simulation model that simulates populations with opioid use disorder through movements between health states which represent varied substance use behaviors and different medical treatments or interventions.

Hepatitis C Cost Effectiveness (HEP-CE) is a Markov chain Monte Carlo micro-simulation model focused on studying the syndemic of opioid use disorder and the hepatitis C virus (HCV). HEP-CE models HCV incidence, screening, linkage to care, treatment, and related morbidity risks, measuring costs and quality-adjusted life years so that relative benefits of treatment policies may be compared.