Dr. Bina Ali is a Research Scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE). Her work is broadly focused on violence prevention, substance use prevention, and injury control. She is especially interested in understanding and addressing health disparities in minority populations, including racial and ethnic minorities, low-income populations, and individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. She has led multiple studies on psychosocial determinants of substance use, interpersonal violence, and risky behaviors. She has designed and conducted research and evaluation studies at the national, state, and local levels.
She is the Director of the Children’s Safety Network Economics and Data Analysis Resource Center (CSN EDARC) operated by PIRE. She uses data, research, and communication of existing evidence to support states, communities, and public health partners in their efforts to prevent child and adolescent violence and injury. She also has experience in evaluating large multilevel programs, including evaluations of a state-level sexual violence prevention program and a county-level opioid overdose prevention program.
Prior to coming to PIRE, Dr. Ali worked with treatment-seeking substance users to assess factors associated with treatment outcomes, such as treatment completion and substance use relapse, and to inform treatment approaches.
Selected Projects
Baltimore County Overdose Data to Action Evaluation (OD2A)
Children’s Safety Network Economics and Data Analysis Resource Center (CSN EDARC)
Selected Publications
Leonardo, J. B., Ali, B., Stern-Carusone, J., & Katradis, M. (2022). Achieving gains in state and local child safety systems and workforce development: Application of the framework for Quality Improvement and Innovation in Child Safety. Injury Prevention. https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2021-044519
Ali, B., Rockett, I. R. H., Miller, T. R., & Leonardo, J. B. (2022). Racial/ethnic differences in preceding circumstances of suicide and potential suicide misclassification among US adolescents. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 9(1), 296-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00957-7
Lippold, K., & Ali, B. (2020). Racial/ethnic differences in opioid-involved overdose deaths across metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in the United States, 1999−2017. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 212, 108059. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108059
Miller, T. R., Swedler, D. I., Lawrence, B. A., Ali, B., Rockett, I. R. H., Carlson, N. N., & Leonardo, J. (2020). Incidence and lethality of suicidal overdoses by drug class. JAMA Network Open, 3(3), e200607. PMCID: PMC7090840. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.0607
Ali, B., Fisher, D. A., Miller, T. R., Lawrence, B. A., Spicer, R. S., Swedler, D. I., & Allison, J. (2019). Trends in drug poisoning deaths among adolescents and young adults in the United States, 2006–2015. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 80(2), 201-210. PMCID: PMC6489543. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2019.80.201
