Dr. Ruchi Bhandari is an epidemiologist. Her research focuses on the assessment of risk factors and outcomes of life-threatening infections associated with substance use disorder.

Assistant Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Public Health

Department:

Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Classification:

Faculty

• PhD, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 2013
• MPA, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
• MA, University of Rajasthan, India
• MBA, R.A. Podar Institute of Management, University of Rajasthan, India

· Lundstrom EW, Hendricks SA, Marsh SM, Groth CP, Smith GS, Bhandari R*. Temporal trends in occupational injuries treated in US emergency departments, 2012–2019. Inj. Epidemiol. 2023; 10(1):13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-023-00423-y. PMID: 36899403.

· Bhandari R, Alexander T, Annie FH, et al. Steep rise in drug use-associated infective endocarditis in West Virginia: Characteristics and healthcare utilization.

PLOS One. 2022 Jul 15;17(7):e0271510. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271510. PMID: 35839224.

· Bhandari R. HIV preexposure prophylaxis among people with substance use disorder - The road less traveled. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Jul 1;5(7):e2221352. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.21352. PMID: 35819788.

· Bhandari R, Tiwari S, Alexander T, et al. Sex differences in characteristics of patients with infective endocarditis: A multicenter study. J Clin Med. 2022 Jun 18;11(12):3514. doi: 10.3390/jcm11123514. PMID: 35743584.

· Dai Z, Smith GS, Hendricks B, Bhandari R*. Brief report: Cause of death among people discharged from infective endocarditis related hospitalization-West Virginia, 2016-2019. Clin Cardiol. 2022 May;45(5):536-539. doi: 10.1002/clc.23812. Epub 2022 Mar 9. PMID: 35266180.

· Mohamed R, Wen S, Bhandari R*. Self-help group attendance-associated treatment outcomes among individuals with substance use disorder in short-term residential facilities. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2022 May;83(3):383-391. PMID: 35590179.

· Tressler SR, Kushner T, Bhandari R*. Factors associated with Hepatitis B exposure among people who report using methamphetamine: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2016. J Infect Dis. 2020 Jan 2;221(2):243-250. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiz445. PMID: 31504660.

Note: *Senior author; Underlined: Student author

· Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award by Student Association of Public Health, WVU, April 2023.

· Teaching Spotlight (twice), HSC Office of Research and Graduate Education. October 21, 2020 - October 28, 2020 and July 29, 2020 - August 5, 2020.

· First place award for the oral presentation Practice patterns and outcomes of injection drug users presenting with tricuspid valve infective endocarditis in West Virginia. Johnson J, Reece R, Bhandari R, Khakoo R, Annual Meeting of the WV Chapter, American College of Physicians Chapter Meeting, Stonewall Resort, WV, October 2019.

· Second place award for oral presentation Clinical outcomes and screening rates of infants born to women with active Hepatitis C infection at the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, Greenbrier, WV, April 2019.

· First place award for the research poster Barriers to influenza vaccination in a rural university clinic by Chen Y-W, Bhandari R, Fisher M at the Annual Meeting of the WV Chapter, American College of Physicians, Roanoke, WV, October 2018.

· Mountain Health Promise, WV DHHR-Bureau for Medical Services Award, October 1, 2020 – April 30, 2021, April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024. Role: Co-I.

· Mountain State Assessment of Trends in Community Health (MATCH), WV DHHR-Bureau for Medical Services Award. May 1, 2021 – January 31, 2024. Role: Co-I.

· WVCTSI’s pilot grant for Development of a statewide linked database for analysis of clinical and economic patterns of injection drug use-associated infective endocarditis. September 1, 2019 – February 28, 2021. Role: PI.

Publications:

Courses taught (here at WVU)

· EPID 712 Quantitative Methods in Epidemiology

· PUBH 611 Epidemiology for Public Health Practice

· PUBH 611 Epidemiology for Public Health Practice - Online

· PUBH 423 Introduction to Modern Epidemiologic Research

· PUBH 423 (Honors section) Introduction to Modern Epidemiologic Research

· EPID 629 Epidemiology Capstone

· EPID 696 Graduate Seminar

· EPID 601 Public Health Epidemiology

Dr. Ruchi Bhandari is a PhD-trained epidemiologist who has developed an active and independent research program focused on the assessment of risk factors and outcomes of life-threatening infections associated with drug use, a significant public health challenge in West Virginia. As a Principal Investigator on NIH-funded West Virginia Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute Pilot Grant, she worked with other collaborators to create the first intra-hospital, multi-site database of patients with infective endocarditis associated with injection drug use. Over the past few years, she has built a strong multidisciplinary research team consisting of clinicians, physician scientists, and public health researchers at WVU and at other academic institutions. She is a co-investigator on a large-scale statewide survey, Mountain State Assessment of Trends in Community Health (MATCH), designed to collect extensive health data with the goal of directing resources to the disadvantaged West Virginia communities. She was also a co-investigator on another crucial project, conducting an independent assessment of the state program providing health coverage to children and youth in foster care and individuals receiving adoption assistance. Dr. Bhandari has been teaching epidemiology-related courses at the undergraduate, master’s, and PhD levels at WVU since joining WVU in 2017.

Courses taught (here at WVU)

· EPID 712 Quantitative Methods in Epidemiology

· PUBH 611 Epidemiology for Public Health Practice

· PUBH 611 Epidemiology for Public Health Practice - Online

· PUBH 423 Introduction to Modern Epidemiologic Research

· PUBH 423 (Honors section) Introduction to Modern Epidemiologic Research

· EPID 629 Epidemiology Capstone

· EPID 696 Graduate Seminar

· EPID 601 Public Health Epidemiology

West Virginia University Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics

· WVCTSI’s pilot grant for Development of a statewide linked database for analysis of clinical and economic patterns of injection drug use-associated infective endocarditis. September 1, 2019 – February 28, 2021. Role: PI.