Jessica Rast, PhD

National Autism Data Center

A.J. Drexel Autism Institute - PA

I am an epidemiologist in training (PhD(c)) and a health services researcher focusing on the needs, services, and outcomes of autistic individuals. I lead efforts at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute to collect, catalogue, and analyze national sources of data that include information about the experiences of individuals on the autism spectrum, and more broadly about individuals with disabilities. Dissemination is an important part of my work, where we focus on adding both to the scientific discourse and to the non-scientific audience that uses data for decision making. Our ongoing report series, the National Autism Indicators Reports, is written for non-scientific audience on a variety of topics to help inform policy and programmatic improvements. I have also worked to expand my knowledge in analytic methods. I have a strong record in analysis of secondary data and further my skills through professional development and formal courses through the Ph.D. program. I have published papers using propensity score matching and latent class analysis, prepared manuscripts and grants with multi-level modeling and machine learning techniques, including boosted regression and decision trees. These experiences and skills position me well to support the work proposed in this ATRP grant.