Babak Tofighi, M.D., M.S.

Babak Tofighi, M.D., M.S.
Babak Tofighi, M.D., M.S.
Research Scientist

M.D., St. George’s University
M.S., Clinical Investigation, New York University School of Medicine
btofighi@friendsresearch.org
Phone: 410-294-7477
Fax: 410-752-4218
Research Interests

Dr. Tofighi’s clinical, research, and community efforts reflect his commitment to promoting health equity. His work centers on applying participatory strategies with persons with lived substance use experience, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders to inform innovative technologies and health services strategies that promote access to effective prevention and treatment strategies for underserved people who use opioids in community and primary care settings.

In addition to his research at Friends Research Institute, Dr. Tofighi also serves as a primary care provider at OnPoint NYC, consulting research scientist at the Nathan Kline Institute’s Department of Social Solutions and Services Research, and lecturer at Johns Hopkins University.

He previously completed an Addiction Medicine and a 2-year NRSA-funded T32 primary care research fellowship at NYU, and a NIDA-funded Research in Addiction Medicine Scholar training program. Dr. Tofighi has been principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous NIH and AHRQ-funded trials, published extensively, and mentors undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral investigators in health disparities research.

Selected Publications
Bunting, A.M., Krawczyk, N., Choo, T.W., Pavlicova, M., McNeely, J., Tofighi, B., Rotrosen, J., Nunes, E., Lee, J.D. (2022). Polysubstance use before and during treatment with medication for opioid use disorder: Prevalence and association with treatment outcomes. J Subst Abuse Treat, 143, 108830.
Cheng, A., Badolato, R., Segoshi, A., McDonald, R., Malone, M., Vasudevan, K., Badiei, B., Sugarman, A., Macdonald, R., Mangat, J., Giftos, J., Tofighi, B. (2022). Perceptions and experiences toward extended-release buprenorphine among persons leaving jail with opioid use disorders before and during COVID-19: an in-depth qualitative study. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 17(1):1-9.
Lewis, C.F., Williams, S.Z., Tofighi, B., Lekas, H.M., Joseph, A., Rivera, A., Amesty, S.C (2022). Internet use and uptake of a web-based prevention and risk reduction intervention for persons who use drugs in New York City–WebHealth4Us study (2013–2016). Substance Abuse 43(1):1119-26.
Samuels, E.A., Khatri, U.G., Snyder, H., Wightman, R.S., Tofighi, B., Krawczyk, N. (2022). Buprenorphine Telehealth Treatment Initiation and Follow-Up During COVID-19. Journal of general internal medicine 1-3.
Sugarman, A., Vittitow, A., Cheng, A., Malone, M., McDonald, R., Pace, N., Williams, O., Tofighi, B., McNeely, J., Schatz, D., Roberts, T. (2022). Opioid Use Disorder Treatments: An Evidence Map. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 241:109657.
Tofighi, B., Durr, M., Marini, C., Lewis, C.F., Lee, J.D. (2022). A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of the Feasibility of a Medical Management-Based Text Messaging Intervention Combined With Buprenorphine in Primary Care. Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment 16:11.
Tofighi, B., McNeely, J., Yang, J., Thomas, A., Schatz, D., Reed, T., Krawczyk, N. (2022). Outcomes of a NYC Public Hospital System Low-Threshold Tele-Buprenorphine Bridge Clinic at 1 Year. Substance Use & Misuse DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2022.2069269.
Winstanley, E.L., Thacker, E.P., Choo, L.Y., Lander, L.R., Berry, J.H, Tofighi, B. (2022). Patient-reported problems filling buprenorphine prescriptions and motivations for illicit use. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports 5:100091.
Wunderlich, J.R., Engelberg, R.S., Tofighi, B., Schwartz, M.D. (2022). Time for Pharmacy Co-dispensing of Naloxone with Prescribed Opioids? Journal of General Internal Medicine 1-3.
Borda, J.P., Friedman, H., Buitrago, J., Isaza, M., Herrera, P., Krawczyk, N., Tofighi, B. (2021). Barriers to treatment for opioid use disorder in Colombia. Journal of Substance Use pp.1-7.
Borda, J.P., Friedman, H.L., Castaño, G.A., Rodríguez, H.A., Muñoz, C.F., Tofighi, B. (2021). Barriers to HIV and Hepatitis C care for people who inject drugs in Colombia. AIDS Care 1-6.
El-Shahawy, O., Schatz, D., Sherman, S., Shelley, D., Lee, J.D., Tofighi, B. (2021). E-cigarette use and beliefs among adult smokers with substance use disorders. Addictive Behaviors Reports 13.
Falade-Nwulia, O., Momoh, O., Felsher, M., Nwulia, E., Tofighi, B., Ward, K., McCormick, S., Sulkowski, M., Latkin, C. (2021). Validation of a tool to assess effectiveness of peer-recruitment for hepatitis C testing and linkage to care among people who inject drugs. Drug & alcohol dependence 230:109177.
Flavin, L., Tofighi, B., Krawczyk, N., Schatz, D., McNeely, J., Butner, J (2021). Low Threshold Telemedicine-based Opioid Treatment for Criminal Justice Involved Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Report. Journal of Addiction Medicine.
Krawczyk, N., Fawole, A., Yang, J., Tofighi, B. (2021). Early innovations in opioid use disorder treatment and harm reduction during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 16(1):1-5.
Lee, J.D., Malone, M., McDonald, R., Cheng, A., Vasudevan, K., Tofighi, B., Garment, A., Porter, B., Goldfeld, K.S., Matteo, M., Mangat, J (2021). Comparison of Treatment Retention of Adults With Opioid Addiction Managed With Extended-Release Buprenorphine vs Daily Sublingual Buprenorphine-Naloxone at Time of Release From Jail. JAMA Network Open (9):e2123032.
Shulman, M., Choo, T.H., Scodes, J., Pavlicova, M., Wai, J., Haenlein, P., Tofighi, B., Campbell, A,N., Lee, J.D., Rotrosen, J., Nunes, E.V. (2021). Association between methadone or buprenorphine use during medically supervised opioid withdrawal and extended-release injectable naltrexone induction failure. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 124.
Tofighi, B., Lekas, H.M., Williams, S.Z., Martino, D., Blau, C., Lewis, C.F (2021). Rural and small metro area naloxone-dispensing pharmacists’ attitudes, experiences, and support for a frontline public health pharmacy role to increase naloxone uptake in New York State, 2019. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 129, 108372.
Tofighi, B., McNeely, J., Walzer, D., Fansiwala, K., Demner, A., Chaudhury, C.S., Subudhi, I., Schatz, D., Reed, T., Krawczyk, N. (2021). A Telemedicine Buprenorphine Clinic to Serve New York City: Initial Evaluation of the NYC Public Hospital System’s Initiative to Expand Treatment Access during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Addiction Medicine.
Ghassemlou, S., Marini, C., Chemi, C., Ranjit, Y.S., Tofighi, B. (2020). Harmful smartphone applications promoting alcohol and illicit substance use: a review and content analysis in the United States. Translational Behavioral Medicine 10(5):1233-42.
Tofighi, B., Aphinyanaphongs, Y., Marini, C., Ghassemlou, S., Nayebvali, P., Metzger, I., Raghunath, A., Thomas, S. (2020). Detecting illicit opioid content on Twitter. Drug and Alcohol Review 39(3); 205-208.
Tofighi, B., El Shahawy, O., Segoshi, A., Moreno, K.P., Badiei, B., Sarker, A., Krawczyk, N. (2020). Assessing perceptions about medications for opioid use disorder and Naloxone on Twitter. Journal of Addictive Diseases 20:1-9.
Berland, N., Lugassy, D., Fox, A., Goldfeld, K., Oh, S. Y., Tofighi, B., & Hanley, K. (2019). Use of online opioid overdose prevention training for first-year medical students: A comparative analysis of online versus in-person training. Substance abuse , 40(2), 240–246.
Malone, M., McDonald, R., Vittitow, A., Chen, J., Obi, R., Schatz, D., Tofighi, B., Garment, A., Kermack, A., Goldfeld, K., Gold, H. (2019). Extended-release vs. oral naltrexone for alcohol dependence treatment in primary care (XON). Contemporary clinical trials 81, pp.102-109.
Palamar, J.J., Salomone, A., Bigiarini, R., Vincenti, M., Acosta, P., Tofighi, B. (2019). Testing Hair for Fentanyl Exposure: A Method to Inform Harm Reduction Behavior among Individuals Who Use Heroin. American journal of drug and alcohol abuse 45 (1), 90-96.
Tofighi, B., Chemi, C., Valcarcel, J., Hein, P., Marini, C., Hu, L. (2019). A validated assessment and critical analysis of commercial smartphone applications targeting alcohol and illicit substance use. . Journal of Medical Informatics Research mHealth and uHealth 7 (4), e11831.
Tofighi, B., Isaacs, N., Byrnes-Enoch, H., Lakew, R., Lee, J.D., Berry, C., Schatz, D. (2019). Expanding treatment for opioid use disorder in publicly funded primary care clinics: Exploratory evaluation of the NYC health+ hospitals buprenorphine ECHO program. Journal of substance abuse treatment 106, pp.1-3.
Tofighi, B., Lee, J.D., Sherman, S., Schatz, D., El-Shahawy, O (2019). Smoking patterns and preferences for technology assisted smoking cessation interventions among adults with opioid and alcohol use disorders. Journal of Substance Use 24(6), pp.660-665.
Tofighi, B., Leonard, N., Greco, P., Hadavand, A., Acosta, M.C., Lee, J.D. (2019). Technology use patterns among patients enrolled in inpatient detoxification treatment. Journal of addiction medicine 13(4):279.
Tofighi, B., Sindhu, S.S., Chemi, C., Lewis, C.F., Dickson, V.V., Lee, J.D. (2019). Perspectives on the HIV continuum of care among adult opioid users in New York City: a qualitative study. Harm reduction journal 16(1), p.58.
Tofighi, B., Sindhu, S.S., Lee, J.D., Chemi, C., Leonard, N.R. (2019). Engagement in the hepatitis C care continuum among people who use drugs. J Substance Use 1-7.
Tofighi, B., Williams, A.R., Chemi, C., Suhail-Sindhu, S., Dickson, V., Lee, J.D. (2019). Patient Barriers and Facilitators to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Primary Care. Substance use & misuse 54(14), pp.2409-2419.
Velasquez, M., Flannery, M., Badolato, R., Vittitow, A., McDonald, R.D., Tofighi, B., Garment, A.R., Giftos, J., Lee, J.D. (2019). Perceptions of extended-release naltrexone, methadone, and buprenorphine treatments following release from jail. Addiction science & clinical practice 14(1), p.37.
Lee, J.D., Tofighi, B., McDonald, R.D., Campbell, A.N.C., Hu, M.C., Nunes, E.V. (2018). Acceptability and Effectiveness of a Web-Based Psychosocial Intervention among Criminal Justice Involved Adults. Health & Justice 5(1):3.
Tofighi, B., Hein, P., Carvalho, A.M., Lee, J.D., Leonard, N.R. (2018). Technology preferences to enhance HIV and HCV care among patients with substance use disorders. Journal of Addictive Diseases 37(3-4), pp.157-159.
Tofighi, B., Stein, M., Abrantes, A. (2018). Technology-based interventions for substance use disorders: a review of the literature. Medical Clinics of North America 102(4), 715-731.
Berland, N., Tofighi, B., Fox, A., Hanley, K. (2017). Opioid Overdose Prevention Training with Naloxone, an Adjunct to Basic Life Support Training for First Year Medical Students. Substance Abuse 38(2):123-128.
Bhatraju, E.P., Grossman, E., Tofighi, B., McNeely, J., DiRocco, D., Flannery, M., Garment, A., Goldfeld, K., Gourevitch, M.N., Lee, J.D. (2017). Public Sector Low Threshold Office-Based Buprenorphine Treatment: Outcomes at Year 7. Addiction Science and Clinical Practice 12(1):7.
Shariatirad, S., Mahjoub, A., Haqiqi, A., Hemami, M.R., Tofighi, B., Ekhtiari, H., Effatpanah, M. (2017). Buprenorphine added on brief cognitive behavioral therapy for treatment of methamphetamine use disorder Iran J of Psychiatry Behavioral Sciences 12(2).
Tofighi, B., Grazioli, F., Grossman, E., Aphinyanaphongs, Y., Bereket, S., Lee, J.D. (2017). Text message reminders for improving patient appointment adherence in an office-based buprenorphine program: A feasibility study. Am J Addict 26(6):581-586.
Tofighi, B., Nicholson, J.M., McNeely, J., Muench, F., Lee, J.D. ( (2017). Mobile phone messaging for illicit drug and alcohol dependence: a review of the literature. Drug and Alcohol Review 5(1):3.
Kermack, A., Flannery, M., Tofighi, B., McNeely, J., Lee, J.D. (2016). Buprenorphine Prescribing Practice Trends and Attitudes among New York Providers. J Substance Abuse Treatment 74:1-6.
McDonald, R., Tofighi, B., Kermack, A., Laska, E., Goldfeld, K., Bonilla, W., Flannery, M., Santana-Correa, N., Johnson, C.W., Leibowitz, N., Rotrosen, J., Gourevitch, M.N., Lee, J.D. (2016). Extended-release naltrexone opioid treatment at jail re-entry (XOR) Contemporary Clinical Trials 46:57-64.
Tofighi, B., Campbell, A., Rotrosen, J., Lee, J.D., Pavlicova, M., Hu, M., Nunes, E.V. ( (2016). Assessing equity in a web-based behavioral addiction treatment multisite clinical trial. Journal of Urban Health 93(5):871-883.
Tofighi, B., Grossman, E., Bereket, S., Lee, J.D. (2016). Text message content preferences to optimize clinical outcomes among safety net, office-based buprenorphine patients. Journal of Addictive Diseases 35(2):92-100.
Tofighi, B., Grossman, E., Sherman, S., Nunes, E.V., Lee, J.D. (2016). Clinical case conference: Mobile phone messaging during unobserved “home” induction to buprenorphine. Journal of Addiction medicine 10(5):871-883.
Tofighi, B., Perna, M., Desai, A., Grov, C., Lee, J.D. (2016). Craigslist as a source of heroin: a report of two cases. Journal of Substance Use 21(5):543-546.
Tofighi, B., Grossman, E., Buirkle, E., Muench, F., Gourevitch, M., Lee, J.D. (2015). Mobile phone use patterns and preferences in public sector, office-based buprenorphine patients. Journal of Addiction medicine 9(3):217-21.
Tofighi, B., Williams, A.R., Grossman, E., Lee, J.D (2015). Six month outcomes among buprenorphine-naloxone primary care patients after Hurricane Sandy. Substance Use & Misuse 50(12):1571-1578.
Aarabi, B., Tofighi, B., Kufera, J., et al. (2014). Predictors of outcome in civilian gunshot wounds to the head. Journal of Neurosurgery; DOI: 10.3171/2014.1.JNS131869.
Tofighi, B., Grossman, E., Williams, A.R., Biary, R., Rotrosen, J., Lee, J.D. (2014). Outcomes among buprenorphine-naloxone primary care patients after Hurricane Sandy. Addiction science & clinical practice 9(1);3.
Williams, A.R., Tofighi, B., Rotrosen, J., Lee, J.D., Grossman, E. (2014). Psychiatric comorbidity, red flag behaviors, and associated outcomes among office-based buprenorphine patients following Hurricane Sandy. J of Urban Health 91(2):366-75.
Caronia, J., Panagopoulos, G., Devita, M., Tofighi, B., Mahdavi, R., Levin, B., Carrera, L., Mina, B. (2013). Focused Renal Sonography Performed and Interpreted by Internal Medicine Residents. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine 32(5).
Caronia, J., Sarzynski, A., Tofighi, B., Mina, B. (2013). Resident performed two-point compression ultrasound is inadequate for diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in the critically ill. Journal of thrombosis and thrombolysis , 1-5.
Tofighi, B., Lee, J. (2012). Internet highs-Seizures after consumption of synthetic cannabinoids purchased online. J Addict Med 6(3):240-1.
Lal, B.K., Hobson, R.W.II, Tofighi, B., Kapadia, I., Cuadra, S., Jamil, Z., Pappas, P.J. (2008). Duplex ultrasound velocity criteria for the stented carotid artery J Vascular Surgery 47(1):63-73.