Crystal L. Barksdale, Ph.D., MPH

Program Director
Division of Community Health and Population Science
crystal.barksdale@nih.gov
301-827-4228

Dr. Crystal L. Barksdale is a program director in the Division of Community Health and Population Science at NIMHD, where she manages a diverse research portfolio related to community-, social-, and structural-level determinants and interventions.

Prior to joining NIMHD, Dr. Barksdale was the Acting Deputy Director and Chief of the Minority Mental Health Research Program in the National Institute of Mental Health, Office for Disparities Research and Workforce Diversity.

She has previously worked in federal and academic positions providing program evaluation leadership and subject matter expertise on children’s mental health projects focused on depression and suicide, disparities in child-serving systems, and culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions for at-risk youth and their families.

A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Barksdale received her doctorate in clinical psychology from George Washington University, her master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and her bachelor of science degree in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Selected Publications

• Barksdale, C.L., Pérez-Stable, E., & Gordon, J. (2022). Innovative directions to advance mental health disparities research. American Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 397-401. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.21100972
• Alvidrez, J.L., & Barksdale, C.L. (2022). Perspectives from the National Institutes of Health on multidimensional mental health disparities research: A framework for advancing the field. American Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 417-421. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.21100969
• Morales, D.A., Barksdale, C.L., & Beckel-Mitchener, A.C. (2020). A call to action to address rural mental health disparities. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. doi: 10.1017/cts.2020.42
• Barksdale, C.L., Hopson, R., Green, K., Schantz, K., Kenyon, J., Rodick, W., Kaul, A., & Jacobs, C.G. (2018). Developing relevant and responsible recommendations in health policy. In R. Hopson & F. Cram (Eds.), Tackling wicked problems in complex ecologies: The role of evaluation (pp. 180-200). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
• Barksdale, C.L., Rodick, W.R., Hopson, R., Kenyon, J., & Jacobs, C.G. (2016). Literature review of the National CLAS Standards: Policy and practical implications in reducing health disparities. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. doi: 10.1007/s70615-016-0267-3.
• Barksdale, C.L., Kenyon, J., Graves, D.L., & Jacobs, C.G. (2014). Addressing disparities in mental health agencies: Strategies to implement the National CLAS Standards. Psychological Services, 11, 369-376.
• Molock, S.D., Heekin, J.M., Matlin, S.G., Barksdale, C.L., Gray, E., & Booth, C.L. (2014). The baby or the bath water? Lessons learned from the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Research Prioritization Task Force literature review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 47(3S2), S115-S121.
• Westin, A.M.L., Barksdale, C.L., & Stephan, S.H. (2014). The effect of waiting time on youth engagement to evidence based treatments. Community Mental Health Journal, 50, 221-228.

Page updated May 19, 2022