Draft:Michael Stein

Michael D. Stein
Born	(1960-01-15) January 15, 1960 New Jersey
Alma mater	Harvard College Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons
Spouse	Hester Kaplan
Scientific career
Fields	Substance use disorders Public health Mental health HIV/AIDS
Institutions	Boston University School of Public Health
Website	www.michaelsteinbooks.com

Michael Stein (born January 15, 1960) is a physician, health policy researcher, and author. He currently serves as the Chair and Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. Prior to his appointment at Boston University, he served as Professor of Medicine and Director of the Behavioral Medicine and Addiction Research at Brown University. For the past three decades, Dr. Stein has produced work that has spanned the topics of sleep and pain, addiction and HIV/AIDS, mental health and behavioral risk-taking, health care access and quality. He has published more than 450 scientific journal articles. In the public space, he has published widely in the lay press, including in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The New York Times. His work has been featured on NPR’s Fresh Air, in O Magazine, and in many other publications. He is the author of fourteen books and the Executive Editor of Public Health Post.

Early life and education

Stein was born on January 15, 1960 in Teaneck, New Jersey. His mother, Elaine Stein, trained as a social worker and later in career worked as an administrator at Presbyterian Hospital in New York. His father, Samuel, was a science teacher in the New York City public schools. Stein earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1981 with a Concentration in Biology. After graduating Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1985, he underwent residencies in internal medicine at the New England Medical Center in Boston from 1985 to 1988. While completing his residency, Stein met his now wife, Hester Kaplan, who is a short story writer and novelist. Stein is the father of two sons, Toby and Alex.

Career

Michael Stein is a distinguished physician, public health thought leader, and scholar currently serving as the Chair of the Department of Health Law, Policy & Management at Boston University School of Public Health (SPH), where he has worked since 2016. In 2024, Stein was appointed interim dean of the SPH beginning in 2025.

Stein’s research expertise spans behavioral medicine, primary care, substance use disorders, HIV/AIDS, mental health, and the determinants of risk-taking behavior. His contributions to the field have earned him recognition as one of the top 1% of NIH-funded investigators over the past two decades. Before joining Boston University, Stein spent 28 years at Brown University as a general internist and Professor of medicine. He directed HIV services at Rhode Island Hospital for two decades and then led behavioral medicine at Butler Hospital. He has published more than 450 peer-reviewed scientific articles.

Stein has authored numerous books, both fiction and non-fiction. His fiction has twice been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. His first nonfiction book “The Lonely Patient,” won the Christopher Award. Describing Stein’s writing, author Annie Dillard has noted, “No other writer has captured the essential truths about illness with as much clarity.” His recent books about public health topics have included “The Turning Point: Reflections on a Pandemic” (2024), co-authored with Sandro Galea, and “Me vs. Us: A Health Divided” (2022). Stein is also the executive editor of Public Health Post, Boston University’s acclaimed population health online magazine. His writing has been featured in prominent publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The Hill.

Bibliography

Books

• "Probabilities" (1995) ISBN 9781877946578
• "The White Life" (1999) ISBN 9781579620257
• "The Lynching Tree" (2000) ISBN 9781579620707
• "This Room is Yours" (2004) ISBN 9781579621063
• "In the Age of Love" (2007) ISBN 9781579621506
• "The Lonely Patient: How We Experience Illness" (2008) ISBN 9780060847968
• "The Addict: One Patient, One Doctor, One Year" (2010) ISBN 9780061368141
• "The Rape of the Muse" (2011) ISBN 9781579622237
• "Pained: Uncomfortable Conversations about the Public's Health" (2020) ISBN 9780197510384
• "Broke: Patients Talk about Money with Their Doctor" (2020) ISBN 9781469661148
• "Accidental Kindness: A Doctor's Notes on Empathy" (2022) ISBN 9781469671819
• "Me vs. Us: A Health Divided" (2022) ISBN 9780197637562
• "The Turning Point: Reflections on a Pandemic" (2024) ISBN 9780197749685

Selected articles & essays

• "An Anatomy of Addiction" SFGate, (2011)
• "Ninety Days, by Bill Clegg: review" SFGate, (2012)
• "What makes coronavirus deaths acceptable?" The Boston Globe, (2020)
• "A Return to Reason" Public Health Post, (2020)
• "A straightforward solution to the newly uninsured" The Hill, (2020)
• "Uncomfortable conversations about COVID-19" The Hill, (2020)
• "The problem with hospitalizing opioid addicts against their will" The Washington Post, (2017)
• "The risks of ‘Medicare for all’" The Boston Globe, (2019)
• "We all want our doctors to be kind. But does kindness actually help us get well?" The Washington Post, (2016)
• "When medical care is delivered in 15-minute doses, there’s not much time for caring" The Washington Post, (2015)
• "The Secret Therapist" The New York Times, (2014)

Research

• Stein MD, Kraus C, Rogers E, Silwal A, Helme D, Slaer M, Beard D, Lewis N, Luster J, Stephens K, Lefebvre C. "Lessons learned from developing tailored community communication campaigns in the HEALing Communities Study." Journal of Health Communication. 2023; 28: 699-705.
• Stein MD, Phillips K, Herman D, Keosaian J, Stewart C, Anderson BJ, Weinstein Z, Leibschutz J. "Skin cleaning among hospitalized persons who inject drugs: a randomized controlled trial." Addiction. 2021; 116: 1122-1130.
• Stein MD, Herman D, Conti M, Anderson B, Bailey G. "Initiating Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder During Short-term Inpatient Detoxification: A Randomized Clinical Trial." Addiction. 2020; 115: 82-94.
• Roy P, Stein MD. "Offering emergency buprenorphine without a prescription." JAMA. 2019; 322: 501-502.
• Stein MD, Caviness CM, Morse EF, Grimone KR, Audet D, Herman DS, Moitra E, Anderson BJ. "A Developmental-based Motivational Intervention to Reduce Alcohol and Marijuana Use Among Non-Treatment-Seeking Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial." Addiction. 2018; 113: 440-453.
• Stein MD, Caviness CM, Kurth ME, Audet D, Olson J, Anderson BJ. "Varenicline for smoking cessation among methadone-maintained smokers: a randomized clinical trial." Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2013; 133: 486-493.
• Stein MD, Kurth ME, Sharkey KM, Anderson BJ, Corso RP, Millman RP. "Trazodone for sleep disturbance during methadone maintenance: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial." Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2012; 120: 65-73.
• Stein MD, Caviness CM, Anderson BA, Hebert M, Clarke JG. "A brief alcohol intervention for hazardously-drinking incarcerated women." Addiction. 2010; 105: 466-475.
• Stein MD, Anderson BJ. "Injection frequency mediates health service use among persons with a history of drug injection." Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2003; 70: 159-68.
• Stein MD, Crystal S, Cunningham WE, et al. "Delays in seeking HIV care due to competing caregiver responsibilities." American Journal of Public Health. 2000; 90: 1138-40.
• Wachtel TJ, Stein MD. "Physician Payment: Fee for Time." JAMA. 1994; 271: 425-6.
• Stein MD, Rubenstein L, Wachtel T. "Who Pays for Published Research?" JAMA. 1993; 269: 781-2.