Benjamin Linas

Dr. Linas is a national leader in hepatitis-C virus (HCV) infection and HCV/HIV co-infection comparative- and cost-effectiveness research using computational biology, clinical epidemiology, and clinical economics methods. Dr. Linas has an excellent track record of productivity, ample funding from the NIH and CDC, and a growing core of successful trainees. Dr. Linas directs the HIV/HCV core of the Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorders, HCV, and HIV, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in collaboration with Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, and Miami.

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Publications

Zhu, L., Magaldi, L., Wagh, I., Ennis, E., Reitsma, M., Kuncio, D., Addish, E., Varghese, S., Furukawa, N., Honeycutt, A., Chen, Y., Linas, B., & Salomon, J. (2026). Health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of jail-based hepatitis C elimination strategies. JAMA Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2026.0190
Zhu, L., Furukawa, N., Thompson, W., Reitsma, M., Randall, L., Van Handel, M., Asher, A., Valverde, E., Linas, B., & Salomon, J. (2025). Health and economic impact of periodic hepatitis C virus testing among people who inject drugs. JAMA Health Forum, 6(7), e251870. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.1870
Zhu, L., Havens, J., Rudolph, A., Young, A., Yazdi, G., Thompson, W., Hagan, L., Randall, L., Wang, J., Earnest, R., Nolen, S., & Linas, B. (2025). Hepatitis C virus transmission among people who inject drugs in rural United States: mathematical modeling study using stochastic agent-based network simulation. American Journal of Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwaf052
Zhu, L., Furukawa, N., Thompson, W., Reitsma, M., Randall, L., Asher, A., Valverde, E., Linas, B., & Salomon, J. (2025). Potential impact of frequent testing for hepatitis C virus among people who inject drugs toward hepatitis C elimination in the United States. Clinical Infectious Disease. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaf368
Zhu, L., Thomas, W., Hagan, L., Randall, L., Rudolph, A., Young, A., Havens, J., Salomon, J., & Linas, B. (2024). Potential impact of curative and preventive interventions toward hepatitis C elimination in people who inject drugs-A network modeling study. International Journal of Drug Policy, 130, 104539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104539
Zhong, H., Brandeau, M., Yazdi, G., Wang, J., Nolen, S., Hagan, L., Thompson, W., Assoumou, S., Linas, B., & Salomon, J. (2022). Metamodeling for policy simulations with multivariate outcomes. Medical Decision Making, 42(7). https://doi.org/10.1177/0272989X221105079
Giardina, J., Bilinski, A., Fitzpatrick, M., Kendall, E., Linas , B., Salomon, J., & Ciaranello, A. (2022). Model-estimated association between simulated US elementary school-related SARS-CoV-2 transmission, mitigation interventions, and vaccine coverage across local incidence levels. JAMA Network Open, 5(2), e2147827. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.47827
Haber, N., Clarke-Deelder, E., Feller, A., Smith, E., Salomon, J., MacCormack- Gelles, B., Stone, E., Bolster-Foucault, C., Daw, J., Hatfield, L., Fry, C., Boyer , C., Ben-Michael, E., Joyce, C., Linas, B., Schmid, I., Au, E., Wieten, S., Jarrett, B., Axfors, C., Nguyen, V., Griffin, B., Bilinski, A., & Stuart, E. (2022). Problems with evidence assessment in COVID-19 health policy impact evaluation: A systematic review of study design and evidence strength. BMJ Open, 12(1), e053820. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053820
Bellerose, M., Zhu, L., Hagan, L., Thompson, W., Randall, L., Malyuta, Y., Salomon, J., & Linas, B. (2021). A review of network simulation models of hepatitis C virus and HIV among people who inject drugs. International Journal of Drug Policy, 88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.10.006
Assoumou, S., Tasillo, A., Vellozzi, C., Eftekhari Yazdi, G., Wang, J., Nolen, S., Hagan, L., Thompson, W., Randall, L., Strick, L., Salomon, J., & Linas, B. (2020). Cost-effectiveness and budgetary impact of hepatitis C virus testing, treatment, and linkage to care in US prisons. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 70(7), 1388-1396. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciz383
Assoumou, S., Wang, J., Nolen, S., Eftekhari Yazdi , G., Mayer, K., Puro, J., Salomon, J., & Linas, B. (2020). HCV testing and treatment in a national sample of US federally qualified health centers during the opioid epidemic. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(5), 1477-1483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-020-05701-9
Assoumou, S., Nolen, S., Hagan, L., Wang, J., Eftekhari Yazdi, G., Thompson, W., Mayer, K., Puro, J., Zhu, L., Salomon, J., & Linas, B. (2020). Hepatitis C management at federally qualified health centers during the opioid epidemic: A cost-effectiveness study. American Journal of Medicine, 133(11), e641-e658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.05.029
Assoumou, S., Wang, J., Tasillo, A., Eftekhari Yazdi , G., Tsui, J., Strick, L., & Linas, B. (2019). Hepatitis C testing and patient characteristics in Washington state’s prisons between 2012 and 2016. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 56(1), 8-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2018.08.016
Epstein, R., Wang, J., Hagan, L., Mayer, K., Puro, J., Linas, B., & Assoumou, S. (2019). Hepatitis C virus antibody testing among 13- to 21-year-olds in a large sample of US federally qualified health centers. JAMA, 322(22), 2245-2248. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.16196
Tasillo, A., Eftekhari Yazdi, G., Nolen, S., Schillie, S., Vellozzi, C., Epstein, R., Randall, L., Salomon, J., & Linas, B. (2019). Short-term effects and long-term cost-effectiveness of universal hepatitis C testing in prenatal care. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 133(2), 289-300. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000003062
Epstein, R., Wang, J., Mayer, K., Puro, J., Horsburgh, C., Linas, B., & Assoumou, S. (2018). HCV screening practices among adolescents and young adults in a national sample of federally qualified health centers in the United States. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 5, S74. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofy209.178
Epstein, R., Sabharwal, V., Wachman, E., Saia, K., Vellozzi, C., Hariri, S., & Linas, B. (2018). Perinatal transmission of hepatitis C virus: Defining the cascade of care. Journal of Pediatrics, 203, 34-40.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.07.006
Barocas, J., Tasillo, A., Eftekhari Yazdi, G., Wang, J., Vellozzi, C., Hariri, S., Isenhour, C., Randall, L., Ward, J., Mermin, J., Salomon, J., & Linas, B. (2018). Population level outcomes and cost-effectiveness of expanding the recommendation for age-based hepatitis C testing in the United States. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 67(4), 549-556. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciy098
Tasillo, A., Salomon, J., Trikalinos, T., Horsburgh, C., Marks, S., & Linas, B. (2017). Cost-effectiveness of testing and treatment for latent tuberculosis infection in residents born outside the United States with and without medical comorbidities in a simulation model. JAMA Internal Medicine, 177(12), 1755-1764. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.3941
Barocas, J., Wang, J., White, L., Tasillo, A., Salomon, J., Freedberg, K., & Linas, B. (2017). Hepatitis C testing increased among baby boomers following the 2012 change to CDC testing recommendations. Health Affairs, 36(12), 2142-2150. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0684