Amanda V. Bakian

Amanda V. Bakian, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Utah, where she also holds an adjunct position in Family & Preventive Medicine. She serves as Director of the Utah Registry of Autism and Developmental Disabilities (URADD), overseeing public health surveillance for autism and developmental disabilities. Her research investigates environmental, geographical, and familial risk factors for psychiatric conditions including autism spectrum disorder and suicide, with emphasis on air pollution interactions and spatial epidemiology.

Education:

• Postgraduate Fellowship, Kyoto University
• PhD, Utah State University
• MS, Utah State University
• BA, Colby College

Dr. Bakian's research integrates environmental epidemiology, spatial statistics, and gene-environment interactions to identify population-level psychiatric risk patterns. She leads NIH-funded projects examining air pollution's impact on suicide risk and directs Utah's autism prevalence tracking. Her work emphasizes public health surveillance systems and geographical disparities in psychiatric outcomes.

Recent publications (2024-2025) demonstrate strong focus on suicide risk factors, autism epidemiology, environmental health impacts, and mental health disparities. Methodologies include large-scale population studies, spatial analysis, genetic investigations, and public health surveillance innovations across diverse populations including youth, transgender individuals, and economically disadvantaged groups.

Major Grants & Initiatives:

• Principal Investigator: NIH-funded study on air pollution/weather impacts on suicide risk
• Director: Utah Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Project
• Member: Utah Suicide Genetic Risk Study

She leads the URADD surveillance team and collaborates extensively with national networks including the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.