Rachel French, PhD, RN is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Health at Penn Nursing. Her research is dedicated to improving care and outcomes for people with opioid and other substance use disorders. Currently, Dr. French’s research is focused on optimizing treatment for hospitalized patients with substance use disorders, emphasizing the integration of harm reduction strategies and the implementation of evidence-based interventions.
Dr. French received her undergraduate degree at Boston College and her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania in the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research. She completed a fellowship in health policy with the National Clinicians Scholars Program at Penn and a postdoc in Penn’s Center for Mental Health.

Senior Fellow
Rachel French, PhD, RN
- Assistant Professor, Family and Community Health, Penn Nursing
Related Content

Over 500 U.S. Hospitals Have Stopped Delivering Babies Since 2010
A Crisis in Maternal Care is Unfolding—and it’s Hitting Rural and Urban Communities Alike

Pennsylvania’s Big Plan to Save Rural Hospitals Gets Mixed Reviews
Stable Payments Improved Margins But Not Liquidity, New LDI Analysis Finds

Penn Nursing’s Jane Muir Wins 2025 Emergency Nurses Association Award
LDI Senior Fellow Cited for "Significant Contributions" in Research

HIV is Not a Crime: The Case for Ending HIV Criminalization
Outdated Laws Target Black and Queer Lives in Over 30 States, Fueling a Deadly Disease

LDI and Wharton’s Cynthia Chude Wins 2025 MiFF PhD Scholar Award
Selected for Current and Future Research in the Science of Amputee Care
In The Media The Guardian
Patients with Ultra-Rare Diseases Worry FDA Approach Will Leave Them Without Treatment
Interview
In The Media ABC News
Why Some Economists Say the Deficit Increase in Trump’s Bill is Dangerous
Interview

Estimated Overdose Deaths Due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Research Memo: Delivered to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader John Thune

Health Impacts of SNAP Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Research Memo: Delivered to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader John Thune

Fixing The Bill: How Better Medicare Cost Reporting Can Slash U.S. Health Care Waste
Hospitals’ Current Cost Reports are Unreliable and Should be Improved, LDI Fellow Finds

How Medicaid Cuts Could Force Millions Into Nursing Homes
If Federal Support Falls, States May Slash Home- and Community-Based Services — Pushing Vulnerable Americans Into Nursing Homes They Don’t Want or Need
In The Media STAT News
Medicaid Cuts Will Hurt All American Children — Not Just Those Publicly Insured
Author