Brandon del Pozo, PhD, MPA, MA conducts National Institute of Health-funded research at the intersection of public health, public safety, and justice, focusing on policing, substance use, and the overdose crisis. Prior to entering the research field, Dr. del Pozo served as a police officer for 23 years. He spent 19 years with the New York City, New York, Police Department, where he started on patrol in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, went on to command two precincts, and served in the police commissioner’s office. He also spent four years as chief of police of Burlington, Vermont, where he directed the city’s interdisciplinary response to the opioid crisis. His efforts were associated with a substantial and sustained reduction in opioid overdose deaths. He was the 2016 recipient of the Police Executive Research Forum’s Gary Hayes Award for Excellence in Police Leadership.

Dr. del Pozo’s writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the New York Daily News. Dr. del Pozo’s book, The Police and the State: Security, Social Cooperation, and the Public Good, was published by Cambridge University Press. He earned a PhD from the City University of New York Graduate Center, Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, Master of Arts from John Jay College, and bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth.