Boston University School of Public Health

Ziming Xuan

ScD, SM, MA  ·  Professor, Community Health Sciences & Epidemiology

Social epidemiologist studying how policy shapes health — from alcohol and firearm laws to opioid overdose prevention — with a focus on vulnerable populations including youth, elderly, and those with substance use disorders.

180+ Publications
10,000+ Citations
20+ Grants
Google Scholar BU Profile Consulting Inquiries
Ziming Xuan, Professor at Boston University School of Public Health

Areas of Expertise

Research Focus

Applying social epidemiology and advanced quantitative methods to understand how social policies and interventions address poverty, substance use, and injury among vulnerable populations, and improve public health outcomes.

Alcohol & Substance Use Policy

Examining how alcohol taxes, outlet density regulations, hours-of-sale laws, and advertising restrictions affect drinking behavior, binge drinking, impaired driving, and alcohol-attributable mortality across the United States.

Firearm Policy & Gun Violence

Studying the public health impact of state gun laws — including universal background checks, domestic violence firearm prohibitions, and permitless carry — on gun homicide, suicide, and injury rates, including racial and geographic disparities.

Opioid Overdose & Harm Reduction

Evaluating post-overdose outreach programs, naloxone distribution policies, and stimulant-inclusive intervention strategies to reduce overdose fatalities and improve treatment engagement among overdose survivors.

Life-course Risky Behavior

Investigating age onset, patterns and trajectories of risky behaviors during developmental sensitive period and other transitions from a life-course perspective.

Federally Funded Research

Selected Funded Projects

Principal investigator on multiple R01 and cooperative agreement awards examining policy determinants of substance use and injury in the United States.

NIH  · R01AA031590

Alcohol Taxation, Policy Environment, and Alcohol Health Services

We aimed at developing an improved measure of alcohol taxation, and investigate its impact on state alcohol treatment facilities capacity and AUD health service outcomes.

CDC  · R01CE003622

The Confluence of State Bullying Policies and Firearm Policies in Reducing Youth Gun Carrying and Fatality

We built a longitudinal state anti-bullying panel data and evaluated the anti-bullying policy environment on youth risky behaviors including bullying victimization, suicidality, and gun-carrying.

View State Map →
NIH  · R01AA023376

The Alcohol Policy Environment and Leading Causes of Alcohol-Related Mortality

Our research team characterized the U.S. state policy environment, conceptualized as the effect of multiple concurrent policies and operationalized as Alcohol Policy Scale (APS) measures. We employed longitudinal policy panel data to examine its impact on alcohol related mortality outcomes.

Academic Training

Education

🎓
Doctor of Science (ScD)
Social & Behavioral Sciences  ·  Harvard University  ·  2010
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Master of Science (SM)
Biostatistics  ·  Harvard University  ·  2008
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Master of Arts (MA)
Communication Sciences and Disorders  ·  University of Connecticut
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Bachelor of Arts (BA)
English  ·  Nanjing University

Scholarship

Selected Publications

Over 180 peer-reviewed articles, with research featured in Reuters, CNN, US News & World Report, and the Boston Globe.

2026 Drug and Alcohol Dependence

Impact of a Stimulant-Inclusive Post-Overdose Outreach Toolkit on Engagement of Overdose Survivors Who Use Stimulants: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis

Xuan Z, Walley AY, Formica SW, Wang J, et al.

→ PubMed
2024 JAMA Internal Medicine

Interrupted Time Series Analysis of Bar/Tavern Closing Hours and Violent Crime

Rosen EM, Trangenstein PJ, Fullem PL, Yeh JC, Jernigan DH, Xuan Z.

→ PubMed
2023 JAMA Psychiatry

Association of Implementation of Postoverdose Outreach Programs With Subsequent Opioid Overdose Deaths Among Massachusetts Municipalities

Xuan Z, Yan S, Formica SW, Green TC, Beletsky L, Rosenbloom D, Bagley SM, Kimmel SD, Carroll JJ, Lambert AM, Walley AY.

→ PubMed
2016 Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research

Alcohol Policies and Suicide: A Review of the Literature

Xuan Z, Naimi TS, Kaplan MS, Bagge CL, Few LR, Maisto S, Saitz R, Freeman R.

→ PubMed
2015 JAMA Pediatrics

State Gun Law Environment and Youth Gun Carrying in the United States

Xuan Z, Hemenway D.

→ PubMed
2015 Addiction

The Relationship Between Alcohol Taxes and Binge Drinking: Evaluating New Tax Measures Incorporating Multiple Tax and Beverage Types

Xuan Z, Chaloupka FJ, Blanchette JG, Nguyen TH, Heeren TC, Nelson TF, Naimi TS.

→ PubMed
2015 American Journal of Public Health

The Alcohol Policy Environment and Policy Subgroups as Predictors of Binge Drinking Measures Among US Adults

Xuan Z, Blanchette J, Nelson TF, Heeren T, Oussayef N, Naimi TS.

→ PubMed
2010 American Sociological Review

Effects of Prenatal Poverty on Infant Health: State Earned Income Tax Credits and Birth Weight

Strully KW, Rehkopf DH, Xuan Z.

→ PubMed
View All Publications on Google Scholar

Consulting & Collaboration

Get in Touch

Dr. Xuan consults with health agencies, nonprofits, policymakers, and legal teams on public health evidence, research methodology, and policy analysis.

Contact Information

📧
Email zxuan@bu.edu
📞
Phone 617-358-1376
🏛️
Office Crosstown Center, CT426
Boston University SPH
715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118
🌐
Profiles BU SPH Faculty Page
Google Scholar
Consulting Areas Expert testimony · Policy evaluation · Study design review · Grant review · Media commentary · Health agency advising

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