Kevin L. Kraemer, MD, MSc is interested in the delivery and implementation of patient-centered strategies for the detection and early intervention of unhealthy alcohol and drug use, the application of cost-effectiveness methodology to alcohol and drug detection and treatment programs, and the comparative effectiveness of alcohol and drug addiction treatment on HIV outcomes and quality of HIV care. He serves as co-investigator and Pittsburgh Principal Investigator for the national, multi-site Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) on the impact of multi-substance use and use in a prospective cohort of 9000 HIV infected and uninfected veterans and a “virtual” cohort of all 47,000+ HIV-infected Veterans in care since 1998. He is currently Principal Investigator of a 5-year NIAAA R01 that which aims to compare the impact of different alcohol and illicit drug treatment approaches on the outcomes of HIV virologic control and quality of HIV care. Dr. Kraemer also has extensive research mentoring experience.
Education & Training
- BS (Biology), University of California at San Diego, 1983
- MD, University of California at San Francisco, 1989
- Residency (Primary Care Internal Medicine), Oregon Health Sciences University, 1992
- MSc (Epidemiology), Harvard School of Public Health, 1995
- Fellowship (General Internal Medicine), Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, 1995
Representative Publications
Wyse JJ, Robbins JL, McGinnis KA, Edelman EJ, Gordon AJ, Manhapra A, Fiellin DA, Moore BA, Korthuis PT, Gaither JR, Gordon K, Skanderson M, Barry DT, Crystal S, Justice A, Kraemer KL. Predictors of timely opioid agonist treatment initiation among veterans with and without HIV. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2019;198:70-75.
Mixed effects models examined factors predictive of opioid agonist therapy initiation following an opioid use disorder clinical encounter, identifying that people living with HIV were less likely to receive timely opioid agonist therapy initiation than demographically similar uninfected patients.
Williams EC, McGinnis KA, Bobb JF, Rubinsky AD, Lapham GT, Skanderson M, Catz SL, Bensley KM, Richards JE, Bryant KJ, Edelman EJ, Satre DD, Marshall BDL, Kraemer KL, Blosnich JR, Crystal S, Gordon AJ, Fiellin DA, Justice AC, Bradley KA. Changes in alcohol use associated with changes in HIV disease severity over time: a national longitudinal study in the Veterans Aging Cohort. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2018;189:21-29.
Improvement in HIV severity was greatest among people living with HIV with relatively stable drinking, most of whom initially did not drink or drank at low levels. Those with large changes (especially increases) in drinking appear at greatest risk for poor HIV control.
Primack BA, Colditz JB, Rosen EB, Giles LM, Jackson KM, Kraemer KL. Portrayal of alcohol brands popular among underage youth on YouTube: a content analysis. Journal of Study on Alcohol and Drugs. 2015;17(8):1452-64.
YouTube videos depicting the alcohol brands favored by underage youth are heavily viewed, and the majority are traditional or narrative advertisements.
Kraemer KL. Can a Behavioral alcohol intervention be delivered cost-effectively to persons living with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa? Alcoholism Clinical & Experimental Research. 2016;40(1):50-51.
This commentary supports Kessler and colleagues (2015) that in order to inform rational resource allocation decisions, the cost‐effectiveness of alcohol intervention programs will need to be compared directly with the cost‐effectiveness of other HIV interventions in sub‐Saharan Africa.
Click here for a more complete bibliography of Dr. Kraemer’s works.
Research Interests
- Substance-use disorders
- HIV
- Quality of care
- Cost effectiveness