Alexander Y. Walley, MD
Associate Professor
Boston University School of Medicine
Dept of Medicine
General Internal Medicine

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

Pronouns: he/him/his



Dr Walley is Associate Professor of Medicine and an addiction expert at Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine. 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 OEND 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 has worked as Co-I with addiction, overdose, and HIV expertise on NIDA and NIAAA-funded clinical trials and cohort studies.

Dr Walley is the director of the Boston Medical Center Addiction Medicine Fellowship program, as well as the director the NIDA-funded Fellow Immersion Training program in Addiction Medicine, which trains 5 subspecialty fellows each year to integrate addiction science into their subspecialty research. He provides primary care and addiction medicine consultations in the HIV primary care clinic at Boston University School of Medicine/BMC where he leads the FAST PATH (Facilitated Access to Substance abuse Treatment for Prevention and Treatment of HIV) program. Dr Walley co-founded and provides care on the inpatient addiction consult service at Boston Medical Center, which regularly provides consultation for patients admitted to the hospital who use alcohol and substances. Lastly, Dr Walley has been the medical director of the Massachusetts Opioid Overdose Prevention program since it started in 2007. They have trained and equipped over 80,000 people in the community with naloxone rescue kits, culminating in over 19,000 documented overdose rescues.

Member
Boston University
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research


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

Courtesy Staff Privileges
Boston Medical Center
Medicine



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



HRSA Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program
07/01/2020 - 06/30/2025 (PI)
Bureau of Health Workforce

REBOOT- Repeated-dose behavioral intervention to reduce -Yr4
06/15/2018 - 03/31/2022 (PI)
Heluna Health, the new PHFE National Institute o

Prevention and Rescue Of Fentanyl and Other Opioid YR03
05/15/2019 - 02/28/2022 (PI)
Weill Cornell Medical College National Institute o

Effectiveness of the Consult for Addiction Treatment and Yr4
03/15/2018 - 12/31/2021 (PI)
New York University National Institute o

Knock and Talk: Public Health-Public Safety Partnerships for Post-Overdose Outreach and Prevention
09/30/2018 - 09/29/2021 (PI)
CDC-NCIPC
5R01CE003052-03

Implementation to Motivate Physician to Opioid Dependence on HIV Setting
10/01/2015 - 03/31/2021 (PI)
Bay State Medical NIH-NIDA
5R01DA038082-06

Pharmacy Naloxone Distribution: Assessing a New Tool to Reduce Overdose Morta…
05/01/2016 - 01/31/2021 (PI)
West Virginia University NIH-NIDA

Pharmacy Naloxone Distribution: Assessing a New Tool to Reduce Overdose Mortality
05/01/2016 - 01/31/2021 (PI)
Pacific Institute For Res And Evaluation NIH-NIDA

Implementation to Motivate Physician to Opioid Dependence on HIV Setting
07/01/2014 - 06/30/2019 (PI)
Rhode Island Hospital NIH-NIDA

Forecasting the Impact of Corrections-based MOUD in Massachusetts(FICOMM)
12/01/2017 - 12/31/2018 (PI)
University of Baltimore Ntl Drug Ctrl Policy

Showing 10 of 14 results. Show All Results

Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs
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
2010 Impact of overdose prevention education and intranasal naloxone on fatal and non- 5R21CE001602-02 3
2010 Facilitated Access to Substance Abuse Treatment with Prevention and Treatment of 5H79TI018710-04
2009 Impact of overdose prevention education and intranasal naloxone on fatal and non- 1R21CE001602-01 3
2009 Facilitated Access to Substance Abuse Treatment with Prevention and Treatment of 5H79TI018710-03
2008 Facilitated Access to Substance Abuse Treatment with Prevention and Treatment of 5H79TI018710-02
Showing 10 of 11 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. Kimmel S, Bach P, Walley AY. Treatment of Refractory Opioid Use Disorder : Comparison of Treatment Options for Refractory Opioid Use Disorder in the United States and Canada: A Narrative Review. J Gen Intern Med. 2021 06; 36(6):1793.View Related Profiles. PMID: 33772440; PMCID: PMC8175604; DOI: 10.1007/s11606-021-06727-3;
     
  2. Morgan JR, Walley AY, Murphy SM, Chatterjee A, Hadland SE, Barocas J, Linas BP, Assoumou SA. Characterizing initiation, use, and discontinuation of extended-release buprenorphine in a nationally representative United States commercially insured cohort. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021 Aug 01; 225:108764.View Related Profiles. PMID: 34051547
     
  3. Park TW, Sikov J, dellaBitta V, Saitz R, Walley AY, Drainoni ML. "It could potentially be dangerous... but nothing else has seemed to help me.": Patient and clinician perspectives on benzodiazepine use in opioid agonist treatment. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2021 Apr 30; 131:108455.View Related Profiles. PMID: 34098286
     
  4. Roy PJ, Price R, Choi S, Weinstein ZM, Bernstein E, Cunningham CO, Walley AY. Shorter outpatient wait-times for buprenorphine are associated with linkage to care post-hospital discharge. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021 Jul 01; 224:108703.View Related Profiles. PMID: 33964730; PMCID: PMC8180499; DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108703;
     
  5. Jawa R, Rozansky H, Clemens D, Fagan M, Walley AY. Rethinking Home-based Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy for Persons Who Inject Drugs: An Opportunity for Change in the Time of COVID-19. J Addict Med. 2021 Apr 09.View Related Profiles. PMID: 33870955
     
  6. Kerensky T, LaRochelle M, Fan SL, Kosakowski S, Wason K, Walley AY. Non-prescription Fentanyl Positive Toxicology: Prevalence, Positive Predictive Value of Fentanyl Immunoassay Screening, and Description of Co-substance Use. J Addict Med. 2021 04 01; 15(2):150-154.View Related Profiles. PMID: 32909981
     
  7. Bagley SM, Hadland SE, Schoenberger SF, Gai MJ, Topp D, Hallett E, Ashe E, Samet JH, Walley AY. Integrating substance use care into primary care for adolescents and young adults: Lessons learned. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2021 Mar 23; 129:108376.View Related Profiles. PMID: 34080547
     
  8. Kimmel SD, Walley AY, Lodi S, Forman LS, Liebschutz JM, Lira MC, Kim TW, Del Rio C, Samet JH, Tsui JI. Naloxone receipt and overdose prevention care among people with HIV on chronic opioid therapy. AIDS. 2021 03 15; 35(4):697-700.View Related Profiles. PMID: 33587441; PMCID: PMC7904637; DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000002803;
     
  9. Linas BP, Savinkina A, Madushani RWMA, Wang J, Eftekhari Yazdi G, Chatterjee A, Walley AY, Morgan JR, Epstein RL, Assoumou SA, Murphy SM, Schackman BR, Chrysanthopoulou SA, White LF, Barocas JA. Projected Estimates of Opioid Mortality After Community-Level Interventions. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 02 01; 4(2):e2037259.View Related Profiles. PMID: 33587136; PMCID: PMC7885041; DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.37259;
     
  10. Harris MTH, Bagley SM, Maschke A, Schoenberger SF, Sampath S, Walley AY, Gunn CM. Competing risks of women and men who use fentanyl: "The number one thing I worry about would be my safety and number two would be overdose". J Subst Abuse Treat. 2021 06; 125:108313.View Related Profiles. PMID: 34016300; PMCID: PMC8140193; DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2021.108313;
     
Showing 10 of 157 results. Show More

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

Bar chart showing 157 publications over 17 distinct years, with a maximum of 30 publications in 2020

YearPublications
20001
20051
20072
20085
20092
20102
20112
20126
20137
201411
20158
201611
201717
201811
201929
202030
202112


Recent (within 3 months)

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

Boston.com 7/9/2021
Older

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
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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