Public Health Researcher

Christopher
Kyle Vance Bloomberg Fellow · Johns Hopkins

I study how communities survive crises — and how data, translated into action, can change who lives and who doesn't. My work spans overdose surveillance, harm reduction policy, and the systems that reach people when nothing else will.

Health Equity Overdose Prevention Community Surveillance Policy & Advocacy Data Visualization
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4
Peer-Reviewed Publications
5+
Conference Presentations
5
Years in Public Health Research
3
Active Research Projects

Current: Bloomberg Fellow in Addiction & Overdose
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Base: Missouri Institute of Mental Health, UMSL

About Me

Data that moves.
Policy that sticks.

I am a public health researcher whose work sits at the intersection of epidemiology, harm reduction, and community action. For the past five years, I have worked with the Missouri Institute of Mental Health studying Missouri's overdose crisis — tracking it in real time, understanding it in population context, and translating findings into materials that reach county health departments, community organizations, and state legislators.

In 2025, I was selected as a Bloomberg Fellow in Addiction and Overdose at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where I am deepening my expertise in population health, evidence-based policy, and program design. I believe public health is most powerful at the local level — where data meets real people, real programs, and real decisions.

Research Interests

  • Epidemiology of opioid overdose & harm reduction policy
  • Community-based surveillance & program evaluation
  • Health equity & social determinants of health
  • Stigma toward people who use drugs
  • Criminal justice intersections with opioid policy
  • Behavioral health & sports betting (emerging)

Skills & Tools

Statistical Analysis
R SPSS Epidemiological Methods Survey Design
Data Visualization
Tableau Power BI ArcGIS
Research & Writing
Manuscript Writing Grant Writing Policy Briefs Literature Review
Collaboration
Cross-Sector Partnerships Community Outreach Government Reporting

Experience

Where the work
has taken me.

2025 – Present
Research Assistant — INSIGHT Project
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health · PI: Olivia Sugarman, PhD
  • Contributing to data collection, analysis, and research coordination in support of the INSIGHT project's public health aims.
2025 – Present
Research Assistant — Sports Betting & Public Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health · PI: Matthew Eisenberg, PhD
  • Supporting quantitative analysis on the population-level public health consequences of sports betting expansion, with implications for behavioral health equity and state policy.
2022 – Present
Research Support Specialist
Missouri Institute of Mental Health, Addiction Science Team · UMSL · PI: Rachel P. Winograd, PhD
  • Analyzed real-time surveillance data from Missouri's Overdose Field Report to identify emerging trends and produce actionable intelligence for local public health responses.
  • Led evaluation of Missouri's naloxone distribution infrastructure 2017–2023, applying a saturation model to identify geographic and demographic gaps — published as first author in JSAT.
  • Evaluated the SHIELD training program for first responders, measuring pre/post changes in stigma and service referral behavior — published in Harm Reduction Journal.
  • Translated findings into reports and briefings for community organizations, health departments, and state officials; work referenced in legislative documentation.
  • Produced 4 peer-reviewed publications and 5+ national conference presentations.
2020 – 2021
Research Assistant
Missouri Institute of Mental Health, Data Science Team · UMSL · PI: Jodi Heaps-Woodruff, PhD
  • Administered validated psychometric surveys on resilience and grit in adult children of alcoholics.
  • Analyzed Medicaid claims data to evaluate OUD treatment disparities following emergency department visits.
  • Presented findings to Missouri government officials via poster presentation at the state capitol.

Research

Publications &
Presentations

First Author · 2025
Missouri Naloxone Distribution 2017–2023: Evaluation and Implications of Applying a Naloxone Saturation Model
Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 174, 209708
Vance K, Park B, Kondai R, Green L, Green TC, Marshall BDL, & Winograd RP.
Co-Author · 2025
Overdose and Overwork: First Responder Burnout and Mental Health Help-Seeking in Missouri's Overdose Crisis
Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 271, 112590
La Manna A, Siddiqui S, Gerber G, Budesa Z, Vance K, et al.
Co-Author · 2024
First Responders' Intention to Refer to Post-Overdose Services Following SHIELD Training
Harm Reduction Journal, 21(1), 39
Siddiqui ST, La Manna A, Connors E, Smith R, Vance K, et al.
Co-Author · 2024
Missouri's Overdose Field Report: Descriptive Analysis, Survival Trends, and Naloxone Dosing Patterns, 2018–2022
American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 50(3), 413–425
Budesa Z, Vance K, Smith R, et al.

Selected Presentations

Vance K, Budesa Z, Green L, et al. (2023). Tracking Naloxone Use in the Fentanyl Era. AMERSA Annual Conference [Poster]
Budesa Z, Brown K, Coffey B, Vance K, et al. (2023). Development of Scales to Measure the Acceptance of Harm Reduction. AMERSA Annual Conference [Oral]
Siddiqui S, Connors L, Vance K, et al. (2024). Surmounting Stigma: Missouri First Responder Stigma Reduction Following SHIELD Training. AMERSA Annual Conference [Oral]

Education

Academic
Background

🎓
Current
Bloomberg Fellow — Addiction & Overdose
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
June 2025 – Present · Baltimore, MD
📗
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology
University of Missouri–Saint Louis
2021 · St. Louis, MO

Senior Thesis: Resilience and Grit in Adult Children of Alcoholics · Advisor: Jodi Heaps-Woodruff, PhD

📘
Associate of Arts, General Transfer Studies
St. Louis Community College–Meramec
2019 · St. Louis, MO

Contact

Let's connect.

Whether you're interested in research collaboration, public health program work, or just want to talk about overdose policy — I'd love to hear from you.

✉
kylevance2@gmail.com
📍
St. Louis, Missouri
🎓
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
in
linkedin.com/in/kyle-vance-6b2114b2
"I believe that public health - and those who promote it's utility - hold a place in society that places the collective good over one's own. I intend to live and work in such a way where I live by this philosophy - that we cannot see society as healthy if we are not willing to do whatever we can to make it healthier."

— Christopher Kyle Vance