Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Innovation faculty are collaborating with key NYU Langone researchers on National Institutes of Health–funded clinical trials to answer important questions related to COVID-19, opioid dependence, and chronic diseases. Investigators are also active in a number of different research focus areas.

COVID-19 Pandemic

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals were inundated with new information on a daily basis. General internal medicine and clinical innovation faculty played a major role in distilling this information and implementing solutions to improve the quality of care that patients received.

New York City Public Housing Residents COVID-19 Response

Prinicipal investigators Lorna E. Thorpe, PhD, MPH, Natasha J. Williams, EdD, MPH, Donna Shelley, MD, MPH, and Andrew B. Wallach, MD, have developed a structure for collaborating with community-based organizations, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) resident associations, and city agencies to guide COVID-19 testing and vaccination options for public housing residents, a population disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

The researchers plan to compare community-informed strategies to increase COVID-19 testing uptake and seek to measure rates of COVID-19 infection and testing among public housing residents to determine barriers to testing, isolation, and follow-up care. This study is funded by the NIH.

Finding a Vaccine for COVID-19

The general internal medicine team was on the front lines of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine development. Mark J. Mulligan, MD, and his team expanded the reach of NYU Langone's Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit and created four sites that include NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, and NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island to participate in large-scale clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

Each site created a dedicated research team, led by general internal medicine and infectious disease faculty, to conduct clinical trials. The following investigators were leaders COVID-19 vaccine research teams at each location:

• Jennifer L. Dong, MD, and Angelica Cifuentes Kottkamp, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
• Melanie R. Jay, MD, and Sabrina E. Felson, VA NY Harbor Healthcare System
• Lalitha Parameswaran, MD, and Stephanie Sterling, MD, NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn
• Martin Backer, MD, and Steven Carsons, MD, NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island

Understanding Long-Term Effects of COVID-19: NYU Langone Post-COVID Registry

Rany Condos, MD, of the Division of Pulmonary Medicine, has partnered with Caren Behar, MD, medical director of the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health, to address the lingering medical issues of people who had severe symptoms of COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to assess clinical characteristics, biomarkers, management, and outcomes of patients with a history of COVID-19 and generate and develop a database that can be used for exploratory analysis, developing future research studies, and identifying potential research study participants. See full clinical trial information.

Addressing the U.S. Opioid Epidemic in Incarcerated Adults

The majority of opioid users who leave jail or prison inevitably return to their homes and communities untreated and prone to relapse. Researchers Barbara Porter, MD, Ann R. Garment, MD, and Joshua D. Lee, MD, seek to assess the efficacy of two medications used to treat opioid dependence, extended release formulations of buprenorphine and naltrexone, among adults incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons.

The researchers hope that providers, correctional and public health authorities, payers, and policy makers are able to use these data to assess the effectiveness of these medications for re-entry treatment. We believe the findings could have important implications for limiting societal costs of heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioid addictions. This study is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse as part of The Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative (HEAL Initiative).

Optimizing Pharmacotherapy Strategies for Opioid Use Disorder

Mathew B. Kladney, MD, is collaborating with John Rotrosen, MD, in the Department of Psychiatry to test strategies to improve opioid use disorder (OUD) pharmacotherapy treatment and retention, and to improve outcomes among patients who have been stabilized successfully on OUD medications and want to stop medication. They also are examining the difference in outcomes with the use of a smartphone-based motivational app. This study is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse as part of The Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative (HEAL Initiative).

Behavioral Economics Trial to Enhance Regulation of Blood Pressure

Natalie Levy, MD, and Kathleen Hanley, MD, are working with cardiologist and principal investigator John A. Dodson, MD, MPH, to determine if a lottery incentive program that is accessible via smartphone can promote better adherence to antihypertensive medications.

The pragmatic randomized clinical trial, known as the Behavioral Economics Trial to Enhance Regulation of Blood Pressure (BETTER-BP), examines the efficacy of the program among a diverse patient population at the NYC Health and Hospitals System, the largest public hospital system in the United States.

The results could lead to sustainable and scalable strategies to improve antihypertensive adherence and blood pressure control among socioeconomically vulnerable patients. This study is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. See full clinical trial information.