Alexander Y. Walley, MD
Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Medicine
General Internal Medicine

MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
MSc, Boston University School of Public Health
AB, Harvard College

Pronouns: he/him/his



Dr Walley is Professor of Medicine and an addiction expert at Boston Medical Center and Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine focused on the medical complications of substance use, specifically HIV and overdose. Dr Walley has conducted multiple studies related to the opioid crisis and the integration of addiction specialty care and general medical care. He has served as PI on a CDC-SAMHSA-Epi-AID investigation of the surge in fentanyl-related overdose, a CDC-funded study of the Massachusetts community naloxone program which demonstrated community-level reductions in overdose death rates, and a SAMHSA-funded program that integrated addiction treatment into the clinical care of people with/at risk for HIV. He is principal investigator for CDC and NIH funded studies of community overdose interventions. For the NIH-funded HEALing Communities Study - Massachusetts, he served as the Care Continuum Core Director 2019-2022. He has worked as Co-I with addiction, overdose, and HIV expertise on NIDA and NIAAA-funded clinical trials and cohort studies.

Dr. Walley is a founding director of the Grayken Addiction Medicine Fellowship. From 2011 to 2022, 20 addiction specialists graduated, 6 of whom serve as directors for addiction medicine fellowships, 13 are faculty at medical schools, 9 at Boston University School of Medicine. He was a founding board member and treasurer of the Addiction Medicine Fellowship Director’s Association 2016-2019 and American College of Academic Addiction Medicine (ACAAM) starting in 2019. He is currently the president-elect for ACAAM. With his mentor, Dr. Jeffrey Samet, he is multi-PI on the NIDA-funded R25 Clinical Addiction Research and Education Program, which produces the Chief Resident and Fellow Immersion Training programs.

Dr. Walley provides primary care and addiction medicine consultations in the HIV primary care clinic at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine/BMC. He founded BMC’s inpatient Addiction Consult Service in 2015 and the Faster Paths low-barrier access substance use clinic in 2016. He previously was a site medical director for opioid treatment programs in Boston from 2007 to 2016. He serves as the medical director for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services and the Overdose Prevention Program. Since 2007, the MDPH program has trained and equipped over 100,000 people in Massachusetts’s communities with naloxone rescue kits, including people at-risk for overdose and their social networks.

Member
Boston University
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research


Faculty
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Medicine
Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit

Courtesy Staff Privileges
Boston Medical Center
Medicine





HRSA Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program
07/01/2020 - 06/30/2024 (PI)
Bureau of Health Workforce/HRSA/DHHS

Identifying and Testing Post-Overdose Outreach Adaptations to Enhance Survivor Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic
06/15/2021 - 05/31/2024 (PI)
National Institute on Drug Abuse/NIH/DHHS
1R21DA053307-01A1

Prevention and Rescue Of Fentanyl and Other Opioid Overdoses Using Optimized Naloxone Distribution Strategies (PROFOUND)
05/15/2019 - 02/29/2024 (PI)
Weill Cornell Medical College National Institute o

Redesign of Never Use Alone New England (NUA NE) Overdose Prevention Hotline
12/01/2022 - 11/30/2023 (PI)
RIZE Massachusetts

REACH Recognizing and Eliminating disparities in Addiction through Culturally informed Healthcare
07/01/2022 - 08/31/2023 (PI)
American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Substance Abuse and

REBOOT- Repeated-dose behavioral intervention to reduce opioid overdose: a two-site randomized… 0526.0105 RE-REBOOT
06/15/2018 - 03/31/2023 (PI)
Heluna Health, the new PHFE National Institute o

Minority Fellowship Program- James Pierre
06/01/2021 - 12/31/2022 (PI)
American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Substance Abuse and
5H79TI081358-03

Knock and Talk: Public Health-Public Safety Partnerships for Post-Overdose Outreach and Prevention
09/30/2018 - 09/29/2022 (PI)
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control/CDC/DHHS
5R01CE003052-03

Pharmacy Naloxone Distribution: Assessing a New Tool to Reduce Overdose Morta…
04/01/2017 - 01/31/2022 (PI)
West Virginia University National Institute o

Effectiveness of the Consult for Addiction Treatment and Care in Hospitals …
03/15/2018 - 12/31/2021 (PI)
New York University National Institute o
1R01DA045669-01

Showing 10 of 17 results. Show All Results

Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs
2023 Integrating responses to stimulant overdose among post-overdose programs 5R01CE003357-03
2023 Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Program 5R25DA013582-22
2022 Identifying and Testing Post-Overdose Outreach Adaptations to Enhance Survivor Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic 5R21DA053307-02
2022 Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Program 2R25DA013582-21
2021 Integrating responses to stimulant overdose among post-overdose programs 1R01CE003357-01
2021 Identifying and Testing Post-Overdose Outreach Adaptations to Enhance Survivor Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic 1R21DA053307-01A1
2020 Knock and Talk: Public Health-Public Safety Partnerships for Post-Overdose Outreach and Prevention 5R01CE003052-03 1
2019 Knock and Talk: Public Health-Public Safety Partnerships for Post-Overdose Outreach and Prevention 5R01CE003052-02 1
2018 Knock and Talk: Public Health-Public Safety Partnerships for Post-Overdose Outreach and Prevention 1R01CE003052-01 1
2011 Facilitated Access to Substance Abuse Treatment with Prevention and Treatment of 5H79TI018710-05
Showing 10 of 16 results. Show All Results

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

iCite Analysis       Copy PMIDs To Clipboard

  1. Christine PJ, Lodi S, Hsu HE, Bovell-Ammon B, Yan S, Bernson D, Novo P, Lee JD, Rotrosen J, Liebschutz J, Walley AY, Larochelle MR. Target trial emulation for comparative effectiveness research with observational data: Promise and challenges for studying medications for opioid use disorder. Addiction. 2024 Mar 22.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38519819
     
  2. Schoenberger SF, Cummins ER, Carroll JJ, Yan S, Lambert A, Bagley SM, Xuan Z, Green TC, Cook F, Yule AM, Walley AY, Formica SW. "Wanna cry this out real quick?": an examination of secondary traumatic stress risk and resilience among post-overdose outreach staff in Massachusetts. Harm Reduct J. 2024 Mar 19; 21(1):66.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38504244; DOI: 10.1186/s12954-024-00975-2;
     
  3. Fielman S, McNeely J, Fitzpatrick A, Kerensky T, Tomanovich M, Walley AY, Kosakowski S, King C, Appleton N, Weinstein ZM. A Clinical Guide to Support the Implementation of Addiction Consult Services and the Value of Teaching and Technical Assistance. J Addict Med. 2024 Mar 18.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38498619
     
  4. Chang YG, McMahan VM, Marti XL, Pope E, Wolfe S, Majeski A, Reed G, Walley AY, Coffin PO. Perception and Correlates of Opioid Overdose Risk Among Overdose Survivors Who Use Nonprescribed Opioids in San Francisco and Boston. Subst Use Addctn J. 2024 Mar 08; 29767342241237202. PMID: 38456483
     
  5. Bovell-Ammon BJ, Yan S, Dunn D, Evans EA, Friedmann PD, Walley AY, LaRochelle MR. Prison Buprenorphine Implementation and Postrelease Opioid Use Disorder Outcomes. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Mar 04; 7(3):e242732.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38497959; PMCID: PMC10949092; DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.2732;
     
  6. Beaugard CA, Formica SW, Cummins ER, Bagley SM, Beletsky L, Green TC, Murray SP, Yan S, Xuan Z, Walley AY, Carroll JJ. Privacy and confidentiality in Massachusetts' post-overdose outreach programs: Mixed methods analysis of outreach staff surveys and interviews. Int J Drug Policy. 2024 Feb; 124:104310.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38181671; DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104310;
     
  7. Canfield J, Truong V, Bereznicka A, Bridden C, Liebschutz J, Alford DP, Saitz R, Samet JH, Walley AY, Lunze K. Evaluation of a student clinical research education program in addiction medicine. Ann Med. 2023 Dec; 55(1):361-370.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36629696; PMCID: PMC9848279; DOI: 10.1080/07853890.2022.2154833;
     
  8. Stein MD, Godersky ME, Kim TW, Walley AY, Heeren TC, Winter MR, Magane KM, Saitz R. Self-medication of pain and discomfort with alcohol and other substances by people with HIV infection and substance use disorder: preliminary findings from a secondary analysis. AIDS Care. 2024 Mar; 36(3):414-424.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37909062; PMCID: PMC10922286; DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2023.2275047;
     
  9. Harris MTH, Laks J, Hurstak E, Jain JP, Lambert AM, Maschke AD, Bagley SM, Farley J, Coffin PO, McMahan VM, Barrett C, Walley AY, Gunn CM. "If you're strung out and female, they will take advantage of you": A qualitative study exploring drug use and substance use service experiences among women in Boston and San Francisco. J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2024 Feb; 157:209190.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37866442
     
  10. McCann NC, McMahan VM, Smith R, Majeski A, Johns SL, Kosakowski S, Wolfe S, Brennan S, Robinson M, Coffin PO, Walley AY. Feasibility and acceptability of a timeline follow-back method to assess opioid use, non-fatal overdose, and substance use disorder treatment. Addict Behav. 2024 Jan; 148:107873. PMID: 37801804; PMCID: PMC10618957; DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107873;
     
Showing 10 of 222 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 222 publications over 20 distinct years, with a maximum of 29 publications in 2019

YearPublications
20001
20051
20072
20085
20092
20102
20112
20126
20137
201411
20158
201611
201717
201811
201929
202027
202128
202223
202323
20246


Recent (within 3 months)

Higher-dose naloxone spray didn’t save more lives, researchers find

Associated Press 2/8/2024
Older

Everything You Need to Know about Narcan

BU Today 10/24/2023

Post-overdose outreach programs have ‘police paradox’

Futurity 8/23/2023

Can Over-the-Counter Narcan Put an End to Opioid Deaths?

The Daily Beast 3/29/2023

Advocates cheer OTC approval for Narcan, but questions remain about price and insurance

The Boston Globe 3/29/2023

Can Over-the-Counter Narcan Put an End to Opioid Deaths?

Daily Beast 3/28/2023

The Problems in the Health-Care System Are Epidemic

The Provincetown Independent 12/29/2021

Checking Arrest Warrants Undermines the Goal of Post-Overdose Outreach Visits

HealthCity 11/30/2021

Why Somerville wants to host the first safe consumption site in the US

Boston.com 7/9/2021

These Key Telehealth Policy Changes Would Improve Buprenorphine Access While Advancing Health Equity

Health Affairs Blog 9/11/2020

Treatment of Stimulant Use Disorder: A Systematic Review of Reviews

Physicians Weekly 6/22/2020

The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal 4/16/2020

Post-Detox Treatment Lowers Mortality in Opioid Use Disorder

Health Day 4/15/2020

UK’s Substance Use Research Day Highlights Work of UK Faculty and Students

UKNOW 3/5/2020

As People Die From Overdoses, Health Leaders And Police Struggle To Measure Success

New England Public Radio 2/26/2020

Recovery Coaches Offer Nonjudgmental Support To Fill Addiction Treatment Gaps

New England Public Radio 2/25/2020

Study: Medications Significantly Reduce Mortality Rates for People Struggling with Opioid Addiction in Year After Detox

Boston.com 2/25/2020

Few Patients Receive Life-Saving Treatment After Opioid Detox

HealthCity 2/25/2020

Police Offering Drug Recovery Help: 'We Can't Arrest Our Way Out Of This Problem'

NPR 2/8/2020

People Rarely Die After Using Opioids Prescribed for Them

Reason 1/23/2020

In Tents and Under Bridges, a New Cook County Sheriff's Office Program Helps Hard-to-Reach Drug Users

The Chicago Tribune 12/1/2019

Massachusetts Study Confirms That People Rarely Die After Using Opioids Prescribed for Them

Reason 10/23/2019

Study Finds Less Than 2 Percent of Overdose Victims Had Active Opioid Prescriptions

Newsweek 10/22/2019

Study Finds Only 1.3% of Overdose Victims Had Opioid Prescription

Pain News Network 10/18/2019

New Remote Dispensing Naloxone Policy Will Increase Access to a Life-Saving Drug

HealthCity 9/9/2019

Meth Has Taken Hold in Massachusetts

Boston Globe 8/13/2019

Dr. Alex Walley of the Grayken Center Addiction at BMC

All About Boston 2/14/2019

Expanding Access to Naloxone

Apa's Medical Mind 1/10/2019

Nurse Denied Life Insurance Coverage Because She Specializes In Addiction Treatment

Inquisitr 12/15/2018

Nurse Denied Life Insurance Because She Carries Naloxone

NPR Shots 12/13/2018

Markey Demands Details About Life Insurance Denials For Carrying Naloxone

WBUR 12/10/2018

Life Insurers Declining Coverage For Those Who Purchase Naloxone

Becker’s Hospital Review 12/6/2018

Knocking On Doors To Get Opioid Overdose Survivors Into Treatment

NPR 10/24/2018

Knocking On Doors To Get Opioid Overdose Survivors Into Treatment

Texas Public Radio 10/24/2018

2019 Society for General Internal Medicine: Frederick L. Brancati Mentorship and Leadership Award
2017 Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction : W. Anderson Spickard, Jr. Mentorship Award
2012 Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction: New Investigator/Educator Award
2011 Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine: Junior Faculty Mentoring Award
2011 Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine: Evans Junior Faculty Merit Award
2010 New England Region Society of General Internal Medicine: Clinician Investigator Award
In addition to these self-described keywords below, a list of MeSH based concepts is available here.

AIDS
HIV
Methadone
Naloxone
Overdose
Suboxone
Opioids

Available to Mentor as: (Review Mentor Role Definitions):
  • Advisor
  • Career Mentor
  • Co-Mentor or Peer Mentor
  • Project Mentor
  • Research / Scholarly Mentor
Contact for Mentoring:
  • Email (see 'Contact Info')

801 Massachusetts Ave Crosstown Center
Boston MA 02118
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617.414.6975
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