Samara Jinks-Chang MD, MS, MPH
Samara Jinks-Chang is a faculty member at PolicyLab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), a clinician scientist, an adolescent addiction attending physician, and the associate medical director of the Adolescent Specialized Treatment and Recovery Team (A-START) at CHOP. She is also an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine with appointments in CHOP's Department of Pediatrics (Craig-Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine), as well as the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Services.
Dr. Jinks-Chang’s research interests focus on disrupting intergenerational cycles of substance use in families by developing evidence-based family-centered approaches across a youth substance use care continuum, including early prevention, diagnosis, linkage to care, treatment engagement and retention.
Dr. Jinks-Chang earned her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, a master of public health degree from Harvard University and her medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine. Following her medical training, she completed her residency in pediatrics and a chief residency year at the Seattle Children’s Hospital/ University of Washington. Dr. Jinks-Chang then completed fellowship training in adolescent medicine and addiction medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Both her research and clinical endeavors focus on transforming models of care to better serve youth who use substances and expanding access to evidence-based treatments for these youth and their families.