Mia Christopher

Mia Christopher is a research epidemiologist with expertise in substance use, health disparities, and leveraging data-driven strategies to develop solutions and improve public health. Through her project work, she provides guidance on topics such as community engagement, coalition building, implementation science, project management, data harmonization, technical writing, facilitation and consensus building, dissemination, and both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. 

Mia contributes to several National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded initiatives focused on public health impact. She plays a key role in data harmonization and dissemination for the Harm Reduction Research Network Coordination Center—a part of the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative, through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). In this work, she aligns measures across ten research projects. She also supports dissemination efforts for the HEALing Communities Study Data Coordinating Center, which implements evidence-based practices to reduce opioid overdose deaths while fostering collaboration, managing dissemination strategies, and engaging with a network of over 300 interest holders. In addition, Mia is a part of the team working on the NIH RECOVER Initiative, a research effort investigating COVID-19 recovery and its long term effects on health. 

Prior to joining RTI, Mia worked at Columbia University, where she led coalition-building initiatives and the implementation of evidence-based practices across eight counties in Western New York to reduce overdose deaths.