Alexandria “Alex” Macmadu, PhD

Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, and she is a member of the People, Place and Health Collective (PPHC) at Brown University.

Dr. Macmadu is a substance use epidemiologist and harm reduction researcher, and her program of research: (1) examines the social determinants of drug use and overdose; (2) investigates evidence-based approaches to mitigate drug-related harms; and (3) advances justice and health equity in marginalized subgroups, including BIPOC communities, people who use drugs, and persons affected by the criminal legal system.

To date, Dr. Macmadu has authored or co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications and one book chapter. Several of these works have been published in leading journals, including first-authored publications in The Lancet Public Health, JAMA Network Open, American Journal of Public Health, Addiction, and the International Journal of Drug Policy, and one co-authored manuscript in The Lancet.

Dr. Macmadu is a multi-Brown alumna, having received her PhD in epidemiology (’22), her MSc in behavioral and social sciences (’15), and her BA in ethics (’14) from Brown University.