Lisa C. Barry, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

UConn Center on Aging, UConn Health

Research Overview

Dr. Barry’s research focuses on the interface between mental health and physical function in older persons, with an emphasis on the epidemiology of depression and depression treatment; gender and race differences in depression and physical function; and the inter-relationship between cognition, disability, and depression and the underlying mechanisms that may help to explain associations between these conditions. Dr. Barry has begun to apply her interest in the inter-relationship between depression and disability to the study of suicide prevention in older persons, and more specifically, in older prisoners. Dr. Barry seeks to evaluate disability in activities of daily living (e.g., bathing, dressing) and disability in prison activities of daily living (e.g., dropping to the floor for alarms) as risk factors for suicidal ideation in this population, above and beyond factors such as depression and prior suicide attempts. Establishing the significance of disability in activities of daily living and/or prison activities of daily living as independent predictors of suicidal ideation may help to determine a critical point of intervention (e.g., onset of disability), and opportunities for prevention (e.g., accommodations for disability) in the lives of older prisoners who are “aging in place” in this setting.

Education

1995 Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA (Psychology)
1995 Certification in Gerontological Studies, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA
1998 Master’s in Public Health (M.P.H.),Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (Concentration in Chronic Disease Epidemiology)
2004 Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Yale University Graduate School, New Haven, CT (Concentration in Epidemiology of Aging)
2007 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (Research Training in Geriatric Clinical Epidemiology)

Recent/Selected Publications