Autumn Barnes

Autumn Barnes is a public health analyst whose primary research areas include substance use prevention and harm reduction in adolescents, as well as mental health treatment and prevention for adolescents, particularly in school settings. Other areas include colorectal cancer, public safety and harassment, regulatory practice for addressing addiction, and gun violence identification in online settings.

Logistically, her work includes both project coordination and management tasks, as well as qualitative research tasks. Such tasks include report writing, data collection, analysis and management, survey creation, communicating with clients and research partners, and assisting in dissemination activities such as conferences and scientific meetings. She has worked on projects with clients at the state and local level, such as local mental health non-profits, as well as federal partners such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Before coming to RTI, Autumn’s academic foci included substance use treatment, HIV treatment, problems in global health research and interventions, and politics. She has done internships with local nonprofits, state departments, and international organizations that focus on areas including harm reduction and resource allocation, addressing COVID-19 in schools, and providing education to immigrants displaced by conflict.

She is also a member of the American Public Health Association and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence.