Rachel Lees Thorne

Rachel Lees Thorne is a Research Associate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath, affiliated with both the Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM) and the Centre for Applied Autism Research. She holds a PhD focused on cannabis use disorder in adolescents and young people, with expertise in quantitative data analysis methods including latent class analysis and mixed effects models using R, STATA, and Mplus.

Her research interests center on using longitudinal datasets to investigate mental health, cognitive function, and psychological factors across the lifespan. Current work includes an international project examining multi-informant perspectives (parent and teacher) of adaptive functioning, mental health, and autistic traits in autistic children.

Dr. Lees Thorne's publication record shows a strong focus on cannabis-related research, particularly examining cannabis use disorder patterns, risk factors, and mental health outcomes in adolescent populations. Her work frequently employs longitudinal methodologies to track developmental trajectories of substance use and mental health conditions.

She is currently active in two major research projects: 'Reducing cannabis harms through evidence-based drug policy' funded by UK Research & Innovation (2024-2028), and the 'NIHR Policy Research Unit - Cannabis treatment needs in the UK and internationally' funded by the National Institute for Health Research (2024-2028).

Her research contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to health and well-being, with particular relevance to mental health promotion and substance abuse prevention initiatives.