MEDICAL SERVICES

Specialties

Departments

Programs

Languages

  • English

EDUCATION

Medical School

  • New York University School of Medicine , 1992 , New York , NY

Internship

  • New York University School of Medicine/Bellvue Hospital , 1993 , New York , NY

Residency

  • New York University School of Medicine , 1996 , New York , NY

Fellowship

  • Boston Children's Hospital , 1999 , Boston , MA

Philosophy of Care

I completed my Pediatric internship, residency training and a Chief Residency at New York University Medical Center/Bellevue Hospital in New York City’s lower east side.  At the time, in the early to middle 1990’s Bellevue Hospital cared for most of the homeless and indigent patients in New York City.  As a trainee, I saw children and families plagued by poverty and all of its associated medical problems, including substance abuse.  Medical staff members at Bellevue were trained to care for the conditions that resulted from substance use, but little training was devoted specifically to the treatment of substance-related disorders.

During this time period, I became interested in child and family advocacy, and after completing a year as a Chief Resident in Pediatrics, I accepted a Dyson Advocacy Training Fellowship in the Division of General Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Boston.  After completing my training in 2000 I became the Director of Pediatrics for a new Adolescent Substance Abuse Program (ASAP). Shortly thereafter I received a career award from NIH to develop scientific skills in adolescent substance use disorders.  In the ensuing years both clinical and research arms of ASAP have continued to grow and flourish.

ASAP is committed to delivering science based, family oriented, developmentally appropriate care for adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders.  We are a "full spectrum" program, offering evaluation and treatment services for adolescents with a range of substance use experience, from new onset problems to addiction.

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY

Sharon Levy, MD, MPH is a board certified Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She is the Director of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) in the Division of Developmental Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, which is comprised of clinical, research, training and policy arms. She has evaluated and treated thousands of adolescents with substance use disorders, and has taught national curricula and published extensively on the outpatient management of substance use disorders in adolescents, including screening and brief advice in primary care, the use of drug testing and the outpatient management of opioid dependent adolescents. She is currently the co-PI of a SAMHSA-funded adolescent SBIRT project, an NIAAA-funded study validating the youth alcohol screening tool in a population of youth with chronic medial illness, and a Conrad N. Hilton funded study that aims to validate adolescent SBIRT measures and test a brief intervention for medically vulnerable youth.

CERTIFICATIONS

  • American Board of Pediatrics, Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics

PUBLICATIONS

Publications powered by Harvard Catalyst Profiles

  1. Validation of a single question for the assessment of past three-month alcohol consumption among adolescents. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021 Sep 10; 228:109026. View abstract
  2. Moving to a Medical Model of Substance Use Treatment of Youth. Pediatrics. 2021 01; 147(Suppl 2):S262-S264. View abstract
  3. Screening for Young Adults for Illicit Drug Use: A Good Idea Although Evidence Is Lacking. Pediatrics. 2021 01; 147(Suppl 2):S259-S261. View abstract
  4. Evidence-Based Treatment of Young Adults With Substance Use Disorders. Pediatrics. 2021 01; 147(Suppl 2):S204-S214. View abstract
  5. Trends in Substance Nonuse by High School Seniors: 1975-2018. Pediatrics. 2020 12; 146(6). View abstract
  6. Safety Protocols for Adolescent Substance Use Research in Clinical Settings. J Adolesc Health. 2021 05; 68(5):999-1005. View abstract
  7. The role of addiction-medicine specialists in the global fight against addiction. Nat Med. 2020 04; 26(4):456. View abstract
  8. Youth and the Opioid Epidemic. Pediatrics. 2019 02; 143(2). View abstract
  9. Trends in Abstaining From Substance Use in Adolescents: 1975-2014. Pediatrics. 2018 08; 142(2). View abstract
  10. Substance Use Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment. Pediatrics. 2016 Jul; 138(1). View abstract
  11. Substance Abuse, General Principles. Pediatr Rev. 2015 Dec; 36(12):535-44. View abstract
  12. Results of a statewide survey of adolescent substance use screening rates and practices in primary care. Subst Abus. 2012; 33(4):321-6. View abstract
  13. Substance use screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment for pediatricians. Pediatrics. 2011 Nov; 128(5):e1330-40. View abstract
  14. Acceptability of drug testing in an outpatient substance abuse program for adolescents. J Adolesc Health. 2011 Mar; 48(3):229-33. View abstract
  15. Screening adolescents for substance use-related high-risk sexual behaviors. J Adolesc Health. 2009 Nov; 45(5):473-7. View abstract
  16. Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment for adolescents: companion clinical case. J Addict Med. 2008; 2(4):222-6. View abstract
  17. Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment for adolescents. J Addict Med. 2008; 2(4):215-21. View abstract
  18. The national debate on drug testing in schools. J Adolesc Health. 2007 Nov; 41(5):419-20. View abstract
  19. Results of random drug testing in an adolescent substance abuse program. Pediatrics. 2007 Apr; 119(4):e843-8. View abstract
  20. Buprenorphine replacement therapy for adolescents with opioid dependence: early experience from a children's hospital-based outpatient treatment program. J Adolesc Health. 2007 May; 40(5):477-82. View abstract
  21. Is this urine really negative? A systematic review of tampering methods in urine drug screening and testing. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2007 Jul; 33(1):33-42. View abstract
  22. Drug testing of adolescents in general medical clinics, in school and at home: physician attitudes and practices. J Adolesc Health. 2006 Apr; 38(4):336-42. View abstract
  23. Drug testing of adolescents in ambulatory medicine: physician practices and knowledge. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006 Feb; 160(2):146-50. View abstract
  24. Office based management of adolescent substance use. Neinstein. Adolescent Health Care: A Practical Guide. 2006; chapter 73. View abstract
  25. Psychoactive substances of abuse used by adolescents. Neinstein. Adolescent Health Care, A Practical Guide. 2006. View abstract
  26. Drug testing in generla medical clinics, in school adn at home: Self reported physician practices, agreement with use of testing and testing recommendations. J Adolesc Health. 2006. View abstract
  27. Drug testin of adolescents in ambularoty medicine: Physician practice and knowledge. Arch Pediatr Adolesce Med. 2006. View abstract
  28. Laboratory testing of substances of abuse. Neintstein. Adolescent Health Care: A Practical Guide. 2006; chapter 71. View abstract
  29. Motivational interviewing for adolescent substance use: a pilot study. J Adolesc Health. 2005 Aug; 37(2):167-9. View abstract
  30. Teaching paediatric residents about learning disorders: use of standardised case discussion versus multimedia computer tutorial. Med Educ. 2005 Aug; 39(8):797-806. View abstract
  31. Test-retest reliability of adolescents' self-report of substance use. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2004 Aug; 28(8):1236-41. View abstract
  32. A review of Internet-based home drug-testing products for parents. Pediatrics. 2004 Apr; 113(4):720-6. View abstract
  33. Office management of substance abuse. Adolescent Health Update. 2003; 15(3). View abstract
  34. Adolescent substance use: prevention and management by primary care clinicians. J Clin Outcomes Manage. 2003; 10(3):166-74. View abstract
  35. Office-based intervention for adolescent substance abuse. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2002 Apr; 49(2):329-43. View abstract
  36. Save time. 2002. View abstract
  37. Advocating Success for Kids: An Advocacy and assessment program for children with school and behavioral problems. Pediatric Ambulatory Society Meeting, poster presentation. 2001. View abstract
  38. More than just an accident. 2001. View abstract
  39. Motivational Interviewing. 2001. View abstract
  40. The Tale of Tommy's Testing: Weaving New Knowledge into an Old Shell. Slice of Life/Computers in Health Educations Symposium, platform presentation. 2000. View abstract
  41. The tale of Tommy's testing. 2000. View abstract
  42. A Right to Learn. 1999. View abstract
  43. Developmental Pediatrics. 1999. View abstract
  44. Intern advocacy teaching training manual. 1998. View abstract
  45. Pediatric physical exam. 1997. View abstract
  46. NYU Medical Center Teaching Retreat Manual. 1997. View abstract
  47. Drug use among Sydney teenagers in 1985 and 1986. Community Health Stud. 1989; 13(2):161-9. View abstract