Larner College of Medicine

Sarah A Nowak

Associate Professor

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Alma mater(s)
  • Ph.D., Biomathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
  • M.S., Biomathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
  • B.S., Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Affiliated Department(s)

Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

University of Vermont Cancer Center

Media Ready

radio/podcast

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TV/video

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Areas of expertise

  • Health Services and Policy Research
  • Computational Modeling and Network Analysis
  • Computational Social Science and Text Analysis

BIO

My research focuses on understanding and improving population-level health outcomes by examining health care systems influence how patients and providers make decisions about preventive health behaviors. I aim to develop models and empirical evidence that can guide policies and interventions to enhance public health through improved decision making around cancer screening, contraception, antimicrobial stewardship, and vaccination. I use a multidisciplinary approach that integrates agent-based modeling, microsimulation, network analysis, and analysis of survey, administrative, and social media data to study how social and health care systems shape health behaviors. Ongoing projects include analyzing statewide cancer screening and vaccination trends, understanding pediatric and prenatal vaccination, and understanding how parenting forums might shape contraception decisions in the postpartum period.

Publications

Dr. Sarah Nowak's Publications on Google Scholar

Awards and Achievements

2020 Blodwen S. Huber Early Career Green and Gold Professor in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
2012 RAND Silver Medal Award
2008-2009 UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship
2005-2008 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
2004-2005 NIH Systems and Integrative Biology Training Grant
2004 Matthew J. Orloff Award (outstanding senior thesis, MIT dept of Physics)

Bio

My research focuses on understanding and improving population-level health outcomes by examining health care systems influence how patients and providers make decisions about preventive health behaviors. I aim to develop models and empirical evidence that can guide policies and interventions to enhance public health through improved decision making around cancer screening, contraception, antimicrobial stewardship, and vaccination. I use a multidisciplinary approach that integrates agent-based modeling, microsimulation, network analysis, and analysis of survey, administrative, and social media data to study how social and health care systems shape health behaviors. Ongoing projects include analyzing statewide cancer screening and vaccination trends, understanding pediatric and prenatal vaccination, and understanding how parenting forums might shape contraception decisions in the postpartum period.

Awards and Achievements

2020 Blodwen S. Huber Early Career Green and Gold Professor in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
2012 RAND Silver Medal Award
2008-2009 UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship
2005-2008 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
2004-2005 NIH Systems and Integrative Biology Training Grant
2004 Matthew J. Orloff Award (outstanding senior thesis, MIT dept of Physics)