Vanessa Loukas is a clinical nurse educator for the Grayken Center for Addiction Training and Technical Assistance, an assistant professor of medicine at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and a nurse practitioner at Boston Medical Center. She has expertise in managing substance use disorders, co-occurring psychiatric conditions, and infectious diseases in primary care settings. Her clinical interests include harm reduction, low-barrier treatment, medical addiction groups, and improving care for those involved in the criminal-legal system. Through her primary role on the Grayken TTA team, Loukas contributes to peer-reviewed publications, evidence-based clinical guidelines, development and delivery of continuing education programs, and other resources for providers supporting patients with substance use disorders.
Prior to joining the Grayken TTA team, Loukas practiced as a nurse practitioner and was the program director for the addiction treatment program at the South End Community Health Center, caring for high-risk patients with substance use disorders and psychiatric diagnoses. Her work integrated harm reduction, on-demand treatment, infectious disease treatment, and medical addiction groups including within the male/female re-entry/recovery units at the Suffolk County House of Corrections. Loukas received her master’s in nursing from Simmons University and is a certified addiction registered nurse – advanced practice through the Addictions Nursing Certification Board.