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Dan Werb

PhD

Scientist

Email: Daniel.Werb@unityhealth.to
Twitter: @dmwerb

Research Programs

Biography

Dan Werb, PhD, is an epidemiologist and policy analyst with expertise in overdose, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), addictions, and drug policy. Dr. Werb is a Research Scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute (LKSKI) at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases & Global Public Health at the University of California, San Diego. Dr.Werb is Director of the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation, a recognized global leader in cutting edge policy research and communications. Dr. Werb has published dozens of studies on issues related to health policy and addictions, with a focus on preventing the transition of street youth into injection drug use, as well as on identifying the impact of policy and public health interventions on street-based drug-using populations.

Please note: Dr. Werb is not taking any summer students.

 

Recent Publications

  1. Ondocsin, J, Moran, L, Ciccarone, D, Outram, S, Werb, D, Holm, N et al.. "Everyone says 'safe sex' but no one ever says 'safe drugs', you know?": Perspectives on the intersection of drug checking services, drug policy and the overdose crisis. PLoS One. 2025;20 (4):e0321574. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0321574. PubMed PMID:40245047 PubMed Central PMC12005539.
  2. Nassau, T, Bouck, Z, Welles, SL, Evans, AA, Hopkins, S, Tookey, P et al.. A quantitative bias analysis of the association between supervised consumption service use and sharing of injection equipment among people who inject drugs in Toronto, Canada. Ann Epidemiol. 2025;106 :11-16. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2025.04.009. PubMed PMID:40233868 .
  3. Rolle, V, Bakewell, N, Na, Y, Karamouzian, M, Burke, O, Pinch, S et al.. Patterns of opioid toxicity deaths after the implementation of COVID-19 emergency measures in Ontario, Canada: a weekly interrupted time series. Int J Drug Policy. 2025;139 :104797. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104797. PubMed PMID:40203470 .
  4. Werb, D, Sung, HS, Na, Y, Rammohan, I, Eeuwes, J, Smoke, A et al.. Investigating the spatial association between supervised consumption services and homicide rates in Toronto, Canada, 2010-2023: an ecological analysis. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2025;43 :101022. doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2025.101022. PubMed PMID:40027373 PubMed Central PMC11872072.
  5. Karamouzian, M, Werb, D. Misguided tariffs will not solve the United States' overdose crisis. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2025;43 :100997. doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2025.100997. PubMed PMID:39896060 PubMed Central PMC11787009.
  6. Martignetti, L, Knight, R, Nafeh, F, Atkinson, K, Laurence, G, Johnson, CH et al.. Motivations for and perspectives of medication diversion among clients of a safer opioid supply program in Toronto, Canada. Int J Drug Policy. 2025;135 :104665. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104665. PubMed PMID:39637492 .
  7. Scheim, AI, Bouck, Z, Greenwald, ZR, Ling, V, Hopkins, S, Johnson, M et al.. Frequency of supervised consumption service use and acute care utilization in people who inject drugs. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2024;265 :112490. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.112490. PubMed PMID:39546979 .
  8. Russell, C, Ali, F, Imtiaz, S, Butler, A, Greer, A, Rehm, J et al.. The decriminalization of illicit drugs in British Columbia: a national evaluation protocol. BMC Public Health. 2024;24 (1):2879. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20336-9. PubMed PMID:39425094 PubMed Central PMC11490149.
  9. Killion, JA, Jegede, OS, Werb, D, Davidson, PJ, Smith, LR, Gaines, T et al.. Modeling the impact of a supervised consumption site on HIV and HCV transmission among people who inject drugs in three counties in California, USA. Int J Drug Policy. 2024;132 :104557. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104557. PubMed PMID:39213827 PubMed Central PMC11998642.
  10. Kennedy, R, Bouck, Z, Werb, D, Kurmanalieva, A, Blyum, A, Shumskaya, N et al.. A cross-sectional assessment of injection of "salts" and HIV transmission-related behaviours among a cohort of people who inject drugs in Kyrgyzstan. J Int AIDS Soc. 2024;27 (7):e26247. doi: 10.1002/jia2.26247. PubMed PMID:38978392 PubMed Central PMC11231446.
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Assistant Professor, Division of Global Public Health, University of California San Diego Director, International Centre for Science in Drug Policy