Jessica Rast is a researcher at the Drexel University A.J. Drexel Autism Institute. She works in the Life Course Outcomes research program area examining questions about the lives, experiences and services of autistic people. Rast catalogs and analyzes existing national data sources to present a national picture of experiences across life domains and the life span. She is particularly interested in health, healthcare and models of health service provision, including examining ways primary care can facilitate mental healthcare in autistic children and adults. Drawing on her training in epidemiology, Rast uses population-level methods to examine complex social problems, including how people interact with the many systems they belong to, what kind of help people need and what kind of help they get.