News

We are delighted to announce that Sarah Pedersen, PhD, has received conferral of tenure at the rank of associate professor by the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Pedersen is a leader in research examining the individual differences that increase the risk for alcohol problems and alcohol use disorder, as well as for cannabis use, and is recognized for her expertise in health equity research and community-engaged research. Dr. Pedersen has documented the deleterious effects of discrimination on measurable outcomes including sleep, drinking behaviors, and substance use risk, and is acquiring evidence to support an integrative theoretical model bridging structural, environmental, and individual difference factors influencing negative substance use outcomes. She conducted the first study examining subjective alcohol response in Black/African-American drinkers, and the first to compare the subjective alcohol response of Black and White drinkers in the laboratory.

Dr. Pedersen has recently expanded her focus to include the study of alcohol use risk in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Dr. Pedersen leads multiple grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is principal investigator (PI) of a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded community-engaged R01 examining the dynamic transactions between stressors, reactivity, and cannabis cognitions (craving, motives) to identify the processes that contribute to inequities in cannabis use outcomes for Black young adults. In addition, she is PI of a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)-funded R01 focused on examining sensitivity to the acute anxiolytic effects of alcohol, stress, and alcohol cognitions underlying processes that may increase the likelihood that Black drinkers will experience more problems from alcohol. As multiple PI, Dr. Pedersen co-leads two NIAAA R01 grants, one investigating the association between sleep disturbances and alcohol problems, and the second focused on predicting alcohol misuse, problems, and disorder in mid-adulthood. A highly valued collaborator, she also lends her expertise to three studies as co-investigator. Dr. Pedersen has published her research in top psychiatry and psychology journals, as well as journals covering substance use disorders. 

Dr. Pedersen’s expertise has been recognized through multiple influential roles. She is a standing member of the NIH Addiction Risks and Mechanisms study section, and has been invited to provide ad hoc reviews for multiple additional study sections. In addition, Dr. Pedersen was invited to serve as an editorial board member for four scientific journals.

Dr. Pedersen is well-known, locally and nationally, for her superlative, demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusivity. She has served as a member of the NIDA Racial Equity Visionary Award special emphasis pane and has made substantial contributions to diversity and inclusivity with the Research Society on Alcohol. In the Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Pedersen developed and now leads the REACH Collaborative, which stimulates and supports research focused on social determinants of health, equity in research, and increasing representation in academia.

An outstanding teacher and mentor, Dr. Pedersen has taught undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, as well as psychiatry residents and postdoctoral scholars. She is highly engaged with the Department’s Clinical Psychology Internship Program, and is a past recipient of the Award for Exemplary Service and Mentorship for her work with psychology interns. She works closely with postdoctoral scholars training in the Department’s NIMH-funded Clinical Research Training for Psychologists T32 program and is a research preceptor and steering committee member with the NIAAA-funded Developmental Alcohol Research Training T32 postdoctoral training program. 

“Dr. Pedersen is an outstanding clinical scientist whose research program uses novel methodologies in the laboratory and in naturalistic environments to rigorously investigate risk and resilience to substance use problems,” said David Lewis, MD (Chair, Department of Psychiatry). “She has a demonstrated expertise in conceptualizing innovative scientific questions, then designing, implementing and presenting robust studies to improve our understanding of inequities in alcohol and substance use. She is additionally a superb citizen of the scientific community and a very highly valued teacher and mentor.”

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Pedersen!