Alexandra (Alex) B. Collins, PhD, MSc (she/her/hers) is a medical social scientist and an Assistant Professor (adjunct) in the Department of Epidemiology and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health at Tufts University. Dr. Collins uses community-engaged qualitative and ethnographic methods to examine social, structural, and environmental factors that impact people who use drugs across drug use risk environments, with a focus on how these intersect across social locations to shape drug use practices and healthcare access. She is particularly interested in the role of housing, criminalization, and built environmental factors at impacting access to harm reduction interventions; the impact of the changing drug supply on drug use practices and health outcomes; gendered experiences of drug use and overdose risk; and the implementation and effectiveness of harm reduction and treatment interventions.
Before joining Brown, she received a BA in Anthropology and French from the University of Connecticut, and a MSc and PhD in Health Sciences from Simon Fraser University in Canada. During graduate school she conducted fieldwork in Sierra Leone and Canada and worked at the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use and the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.
| Fleming, Taylor, Collins, Alexandra B., Bardwell, Geoff, Fowler, Al, Boyd, Jade, Milloy, M. J., Small, Will, McNeil, Ryan. "A qualitative investigation of HIV treatment dispensing models and impacts on adherence among people living with HIV who use drugs." PLOS ONE, vol. 16, no. 2, 2021, pp. e0246999. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Beaudoin, Francesca L., Samuels, Elizabeth A., Wightman, Rachel, Baird, Janette. "Facilitators and barriers to post-overdose service delivery in Rhode Island emergency departments: A qualitative evaluation." Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, vol. 130, 2021, pp. 108411. |
| McNeil, Ryan, Fleming, Taylor, Collins, Alexandra B., Czechaczek, Sandra, Mayer, Samara, Boyd, Jade. "Navigating post-eviction drug use amidst a changing drug supply: A spatially-oriented qualitative study of overlapping housing and overdose crises in Vancouver, Canada." Drug and Alcohol Dependence, vol. 222, 2021, pp. 108666. |
| Collins, PhD, Alexandra B., Marshall, PhD, Brandon D.L., None, None, Flam-Ross, BA, Juliet , Casey, BA, Sarah, Thompson, Tj, Kelley, Stephen, Hurd, BA, Cassie, Gaur, BA, Dhruv, Shihipar, MPH, Abdullah , Marshall, PhD, Brandon D.L. "Somerville Supervised Consumption Site: Needs Assessment and Feasibility Report." 2021. |
| Ogden, Shannon N, Harris, Miriam TH, Childs, Ellen, Valente, Pablo K, Edeza, Alberto, Collins, Alexandra B., Drainoni, Mari-Lynn, Mimiaga, Matthew J, Biello, Katie B, Bazzi, Angela R. "You need money to get high, and that's the easiest and fastest way:” A typology of sex work and health behaviours among people who inject drugs." International Journal of Drug Policy, 2021, pp. 103285. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Boyd, Jade, Czechaczek, Sandra, Hayashi, Kanna, McNeil, Ryan. "(Re)shaping the self: An ethnographic study of the embodied and spatial practices of women who use drugs." Health & Place, vol. 63, 2020, pp. 102327. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Ndoye, Colleen Daley, Arene-Morley, Diego, Marshall, Brandon D.L. "Addressing co-occurring public health emergencies: The importance of naloxone distribution in the era of COVID-19." International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 83, 2020, pp. 102872. |
| Ivsins, Andrew, Boyd, Jade, Mayer, Samara, Collins, Alexandra, Sutherland, Christy, Kerr, Thomas, McNeil, Ryan. "Barriers and facilitators to a novel low-barrier hydromorphone distribution program in Vancouver, Canada: a qualitative study." Drug and Alcohol Dependence, vol. 216, 2020, pp. 108202. |
| Fleming, Taylor, Collins, Alexandra B, Bardwell, Geoff, Fowler, Al, Boyd, Jade, Small, Will, McNeil, Ryan. "Home and health among people living with HIV who use drugs: A qualitative study." International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 80, 2020, pp. 102729. |
| Lavalley, Jennifer, Collins, Alex B., Mayer, Samara, Gaudette, Laurel, Krüsi, Andrea, McNeil, Ryan, Boyd, Jade. "Negotiating sex work and client interactions in the context of a fentanyl-related overdose epidemic." Culture, Health & Sexuality, 2020, pp. 1-16. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Beaudoin, Francesca L., Samuels, Elizabeth A., Wightman, Rachel, Baird, Janette. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Service Provision for Emergency Department Patients Post-Opioid Overdose." Journal of Addiction Medicine, vol. Publish Ahead of Print, 2020. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Boyd, Jade, Hayashi, Kanna, Cooper, Hannah L.F., Goldenberg, Shira, McNeil, Ryan. "Women's utilization of housing-based overdose prevention sites in Vancouver, Canada: An ethnographic study." International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 76, 2020, pp. 102641. |
| Ivsins, Andrew, Boyd, Jade, Mayer, Samara, Collins, Alexandra, Sutherland, Christy, Kerr, Thomas, McNeil, Ryan. "It’s Helped Me a Lot, Just Like to Stay Alive”: a Qualitative Analysis of Outcomes of a Novel Hydromorphone Tablet Distribution Program in Vancouver, Canada." Journal of Urban Health, vol. 98, no. 1, 2020, pp. 59-69. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., McNeil, Ryan, Czechaczak, Sandra, Boyd, Jade. "That’s what I’m supposed to do at work”: gendered labor, self-care, and overdose risk among women who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada." Critical Public Health, 2020, pp. 1-10. |
| Koehn, Katrina, McLinden, Taylor, Collins, Alexandra B, McDougall, Patrick, Baltzer-Turje, Rosalind, Miewald, Christiana, Wang, Lu, Li, Jenny, Salters, Kate A, Hogg, Robert S, Parashar, Surita. "Assessing the impact of food insecurity on HIV medication adherence in the context of an integrated care programme for people living with HIV in Vancouver, Canada." Public Health Nutrition, vol. 23, no. 4, 2019, pp. 683-690. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Bardwell, Geoff, McNeil, Ryan, Boyd, Jade. "Gender and the overdose crisis in North America: Moving past gender-neutral approaches in the public health response." International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 69, 2019, pp. 43-45. |
| Fleming, Taylor, Damon, Will, Collins, Alexandra B., Czechaczek, Sandra, Boyd, Jade, McNeil, Ryan. "Housing in crisis: A qualitative study of the socio-legal contexts of residential evictions in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside." International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 71, 2019, pp. 169-177. |
| Kennedy, Mary Clare, Boyd, Jade, Mayer, Samara, Collins, Alexandra, Kerr, Thomas, McNeil, Ryan. "Peer worker involvement in low-threshold supervised consumption facilities in the context of an overdose epidemic in Vancouver, Canada." Social Science & Medicine, vol. 225, 2019, pp. 60-68. |
| Allan, Beverly, Closson, Kalysha, Collins, Alexandra B, Kibel, Mia, Pan, Shenyi, Cui, Zishan, McLinden, Taylor, Parashar, Surita, Lima, Viviane Dias, Chia, Jason, Yip, Benita, Barrios, Rolando, Montaner, Julio S G, Hogg, Robert S. "Physicians’ patient base composition and mortality among people living with HIV who initiated antiretroviral therapy in a universal care setting." BMJ Open, vol. 9, no. 3, 2019, pp. e023957. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Boyd, Jade, Mayer, Samara, Fowler, Al, Kennedy, Mary Clare, Bluthenthal, Ricky N., Kerr, Thomas, McNeil, Ryan. "Policing space in the overdose crisis: A rapid ethnographic study of the impact of law enforcement practices on the effectiveness of overdose prevention sites." International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 73, 2019, pp. 199-207. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Boyd, Jade, Cooper, Hannah L.F., McNeil, Ryan. "The intersectional risk environment of people who use drugs." Social Science & Medicine, vol. 234, 2019, pp. 112384. |
| Koehn, Katrina, Collins, Alexandra B., Burgess, Heather, Von Bischoffshausen, Otto, Marziali, Megan, Salters, Kate A., Hogg, Robert S., Parashar, Surita. "Understanding the pervasiveness of trauma within a housing facility for people living with HIV." Housing Studies, vol. 35, no. 6, 2019, pp. 1073-1087. |
| Bardwell, Geoff, Fleming, Taylor, Collins, Alexandra B., Boyd, Jade, McNeil, Ryan. "Addressing Intersecting Housing and Overdose Crises in Vancouver, Canada: Opportunities and Challenges from a Tenant-Led Overdose Response Intervention in Single Room Occupancy Hotels." Journal of Urban Health, vol. 96, no. 1, 2018, pp. 12-20. |
| Mayer, Samara, Boyd, Jade, Collins, Alexandra, Kennedy, Mary Clare, Fairbairn, Nadia, McNeil, Ryan. "Characterizing fentanyl-related overdoses and implications for overdose response: Findings from a rapid ethnographic study in Vancouver, Canada." Drug and Alcohol Dependence, vol. 193, 2018, pp. 69-74. |
| Boyd, Jade, Collins, Alexandra B., Mayer, Samara, Maher, Lisa, Kerr, Thomas, McNeil, Ryan. "Gendered violence and overdose prevention sites: a rapid ethnographic study during an overdose epidemic in Vancouver, Canada." Addiction, vol. 113, no. 12, 2018, pp. 2261-2270. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Bluthenthal, Ricky N., Boyd, Jade, McNeil, Ryan. "Harnessing the language of overdose prevention to advance evidence-based responses to the opioid crisis." International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 55, 2018, pp. 77-79. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Boyd, Jade, Damon, Will, Czechaczek, Sandra, Krüsi, Andrea, Cooper, Hannah, McNeil, Ryan. "Surviving the housing crisis: Social violence and the production of evictions among women who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada." Health & Place, vol. 51, 2018, pp. 174-181. |
| Hogg, Robert, Nkala, Busisiwe, Dietrich, Janan, Collins, Alexandra, Closson, Kalysha, Cui, Zishan, Kanters, Steve, Chia, Jason, Barhafuma, Bernard, Palmer, Alexis, Kaida, Angela, Gray, Glenda, Miller, Cari. "Conspiracy beliefs and knowledge about HIV origins among adolescents in Soweto, South Africa." PLOS ONE, vol. 12, no. 2, 2017, pp. e0165087. |
| Closson, Kalysha, Palmer, Alexis K., Collins, Alexandra B., Salters, Kate, Zhang, Wendy, Montaner, Julio S. G., Hogg, Robert S., Parashar, Surita. "Factors associated with low neighborhood cohesion among women living with HIV impacted by social-structural inequities in British Columbia." AIDS Care, vol. 30, no. 3, 2017, pp. 318-324. |
| Hogg, Robert S, Eyawo, Oghenowede, Collins, Alexandra B, Zhang, Wendy, Jabbari, Shahab, Hull, Mark W, Lima, Viviane Dias, Ahmed, Tareq, Kendall, Claire E, Althoff, Keri N, Justice, Amy C, Barrios, Rolando, Shoveller, Jeannie, Montaner, Julio S G. "Health-adjusted life expectancy in HIV-positive and HIV-negative men and women in British Columbia, Canada: a population-based observational cohort study." The Lancet HIV, vol. 4, no. 6, 2017, pp. e270-e276. |
| Bardwell, Geoff, Collins, Alexandra B., McNeil, Ryan, Boyd, Jade. "Housing and overdose: an opportunity for the scale-up of overdose prevention interventions?." Harm Reduction Journal, vol. 14, no. 1, 2017. |
| Collins, Alexandra B, Parashar, Surita, Hogg, Robert S, Fernando, Saranee, Worthington, Catherine, McDougall, Patrick, Turje, Rosalind Baltzer, McNeil, Ryan. "Integrated HIV care and service engagement among people living with HIV who use drugs in a setting with a community-wide treatment as prevention initiative: a qualitative study in Vancouver, Canada." Journal of the International AIDS Society, vol. 20, no. 1, 2017, pp. 21407. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Strike, Carol, Guta, Adrian, Baltzer Turje, Rosalind, McDougall, Patrick, Parashar, Surita, McNeil, Ryan. "We’re giving you something so we get something in return”: Perspectives on research participation and compensation among people living with HIV who use drugs." International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 39, 2017, pp. 92-98. |
| Closson, K., McNeil, R., McDougall, P., Fernando, S., Collins, A. B., Baltzer Turje, R., Howard, T., Parashar, S. "Meaningful engagement of people living with HIV who use drugs: methodology for the design of a Peer Research Associate (PRA) hiring model." Harm Reduction Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, 2016. |
| Collins, Alexandra B., Parashar, Surita, Closson, Kalysha, Turje, Rosalind Baltzer, Strike, Carol, McNeil, Ryan. "Navigating identity, territorial stigma, and HIV care services in Vancouver, Canada: A qualitative study." Health & Place, vol. 40, 2016, pp. 169-177. |
| Parashar, Surita, Collins, Alexandra B., Montaner, Julio S.G., Hogg, Robert S., Milloy, Michael-John. "Reducing rates of preventable HIV/AIDS-associated mortality among people living with HIV who inject drugs." Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS, vol. 11, no. 5, 2016, pp. 507-513. |
| Postdoctoral Research Associate | Brown University, Department of Epidemiology | 2020-2021 |
Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medal (2020)
NIDA Women & Sex/Gender Differences Research Junior Investigator Travel Award (2019)
Bud Osborn Award for Excellence in Knowledge Translatiion (2018)
St. Paul's Hospital Foundation Trainee Poster Award (2018)
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (2018-2020)
President's PhD Scholarship (2018)
Mitacs, Inc. Doctoral Fellowship (2018)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research Travel Award (2017)
Professional Development Award, Simon Fraser University (2015)
Simon Fraser University Graduate Fellowship (2014-2015)
Travel & Minor Research Award, Simon Fraser University (2014)
Simon Fraser University Graduate Fellowship (2013)
Global Citizen Award, University of Connecticut (2012)
Global Citizen Award, University of Connecticut (2011)
Marie Naudin Memorial Award, University of Connecticut (2011)
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Baird, Janette | Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine (Research) |
| Beaudoin, Francesca | Academic Dean of School of Public Health, Professor of Epidemiology, Professor of Emergency Medicine |
| Beckwith, Curt | Professor of Medicine |
| Goedel, William | Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Director of the Doctoral Program in Epidemiology |
| Hughto, Jaclyn | Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences |
| Macmadu, Alexandria | Assistant Professor of Epidemiology |
| Marshall, Brandon | Professor of Epidemiology |
| Operario, Don | Adjunct Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences |
| Wightman, Rachel | Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine |
Epidemiology
Populations Studies and Training Center
| Investigator. 2021- |
| PHP 2060 - Qualitative Methods in Health Research |
| PHP 2090A - Research Grant Writing for Public Health-Part A |
| PHP 2090B - Research Grant Writing for Public Health-Part B |
