Faculty Expert Profile

Brendan Saloner is a Bloomberg Professor of American Health in Addiction and Overdose in the Department of Health Policy and Management. One strand of his research focuses on access and quality of care for people with mental health and substance use disorders.

He received an early career award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to study the effects of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act on treatment for opioid use disorder. He co-leads the Johns Hopkins team under the Bloomberg Overdose Prevention Initiative, a $120 million investment in overdose reduction focused on seven states. A second strand of his research focuses specifically on health care for people in the criminal legal system. He has received grants from NIDA and Arnold Ventures to investigate medications for opioid use disorder among incarcerated people.

He is currently evaluating the statewide expansion of addiction treatment in Maryland county detention facilities. Finally, Professor Saloner maintains an active research program in bioethics. He led a Making a Difference grant supported by the Greenwall Foundation to study resource allocation in jails and prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic. He received the Greenwall Faculty Scholars Award in 2023 for a project focused on ethical issues related to mandated addiction treatment for people in the criminal legal system. Professor Saloner is extensively involved in mentorship and teaching, and directs the PhD program in Health Policy and Management.