Dr. Mai Tuyet Pho is an infectious diseases physician and Associate Professor in the Section of Infectious Diseases and Global Health. She serves as the Director of Health Policy Research at the Chicago Center for HIV Elimination. Her work seeks to improve health outcomes and public policy at the intersection of HIV, HCV, and substance use. Current research leverages implementation science and intervention testing to expand public health interventions that support the health of people who use drugs, with a special focus in rural communities and criminal legal involvement. Her work has been supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Institutes on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Third Coast Center for AIDS Research and Grand Challenges Canada.
Dr. Pho served as the interim Chief Medical Officer at the Illinois Department of Public Health and a Medical Advisor for Healthcare Policy and Research. During her tenure she led multiple efforts around the opioid epidemic and HCV, including analysis on fatal and nonfatal overdose, HCV surveillance, naloxone overdose prevention and education around safe opioid prescribing. She is a member of the Illinois Statewide Opioid Crisis Response Advisory Council and the Illinois Viral Hepatitis Coalition. She is an active infectious diseases clinician providing inpatient and outpatient specialty consultation and leads institutional quality improvement efforts in HCV testing and linkage to care. She currently mentors medical students, graduate students and fellows interested in public health, health economics and public policy.
Benzodiazepines and Opioid co-use Among Rural People Who Use Drugs: Findings From the Rural Opioid Initiative.
Benzodiazepines and Opioid co-use Among Rural People Who Use Drugs: Findings From the Rural Opioid Initiative. Subst Use Addctn J. 2025 Apr 30; 29767342251331701.
PMID: 40302433
Barriers to accessing medications for opioid use disorder among rural individuals.
Barriers to accessing medications for opioid use disorder among rural individuals. Int J Drug Policy. 2025 Jun; 140:104805.
PMID: 40252371
Approaches to Offering Hepatitis C Treatment at Syringe Services Programs in the United States: A Scoping Review.
Approaches to Offering Hepatitis C Treatment at Syringe Services Programs in the United States: A Scoping Review. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2025 Apr; 12(4):ofaf211.
PMID: 40290563
Lamin B loss in nuclear blebs is rupture dependent while increased DNA damage is rupture independent.
Lamin B loss in nuclear blebs is rupture dependent while increased DNA damage is rupture independent. bioRxiv. 2025 Feb 25.
PMID: 40060436
Sexual identity, sexual behavior, and drug use behaviors among people who use drugs in the rural U.S.
Sexual identity, sexual behavior, and drug use behaviors among people who use drugs in the rural U.S. J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2025 Apr; 171:209629.
PMID: 39875013
Serious Bacterial Infections and Hepatitis C Virus Among People Who Inject Drugs: A Syndemic or Intertwined Epidemics?
Serious Bacterial Infections and Hepatitis C Virus Among People Who Inject Drugs: A Syndemic or Intertwined Epidemics? Trop Med Infect Dis. 2025 Jan 09; 10(1).
PMID: 39852668
DNA damage causes ATM-dependent heterochromatin loss leading to nuclear softening, blebbing, and rupture.
DNA damage causes ATM-dependent heterochromatin loss leading to nuclear softening, blebbing, and rupture. Mol Biol Cell. 2025 Mar 01; 36(3):br6.
PMID: 39705376
I Don't Want to Shoot up the Meth Anymore: Pipe Distribution as a Harm Reduction Service for People Who Use Methamphetamine.
I Don't Want to Shoot up the Meth Anymore: Pipe Distribution as a Harm Reduction Service for People Who Use Methamphetamine. Subst Use Misuse. 2025; 60(4):558-565.
PMID: 39702015
Buprenorphine Injection Among Rural Persons Who Inject Drugs.
Buprenorphine Injection Among Rural Persons Who Inject Drugs. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Dec 02; 7(12):e2450108.
PMID: 39661390
Differences in hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing and treatment by opioid, stimulant, and polysubstance use among people who use drugs in rural U.S. communities.
Differences in hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing and treatment by opioid, stimulant, and polysubstance use among people who use drugs in rural U.S. communities. Harm Reduct J. 2024 Nov 29; 21(1):214.
PMID: 39614319