Sarah Lowe, PhD

Sarah Lowe, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), with secondary appointments in Psychiatry and Nursing. She is the Director of the Trauma and Mental Health Lab and a licensed clinical psychologist. Her research program focuses on the long-term emotional and behavioral health consequences (including substance use) of range of potentially traumatic events, and the interplay between post-trauma functioning and other domains of well-being, including social relationships and physical health. Her work sees to 1) elucidate varied patterns of well-being in the aftermath of trauma; 2) identify factors along the pathway from trauma exposure to long-term symptoms; and 3) examine the independent and joint effects of factors at multiple socio-ecological levels on post-trauma functioning. T32 fellows would have the opportunity to join a supportive lab community that includes undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral trainees. Current projects include a combined social media and community program intervention to prevent gun violence among youth in Hartford, CT; a project adapting a family intervention to address adolescent emotional and behavioral health in America Samoa; a collaboration with colleagues in Rwanda to support caregivers who have faced trauma and adversity; and a range of projects related to climate change and a range of emotional and behavioral health outcomes, including substance use. Trainees will also have opportunities to conduct secondary analyses of existing data from studies that have assessed alcohol and other substance use, and to receive support in pursuing independent research projects focused on traumatic events and substance use.