Sarah Knowles, Ph.D., MPH

Research and Publications Coordinator, Health Services Research

Sarah Knowles, Ph.D., MPH, is the research and publications coordinator in the Department of Health Services Research at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s Research Institute. In this position, she supervises the management and analysis of data from two DHR clinical trials, the BOAT and LETS clinical trials. Both trials use multiple data sources including self-report data collected from trial patients and study staff, as well as pharmacy dispensing and health care utilization information extracted from the health care organization’s administrative files. Additionally, Dr. Knowles is responsible for coordinating the interpretation and dissemination of those results at national conferences and as peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Knowles received her doctorate in Epidemiology and master’s degree in public health in health behavior and health education, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The focus of her doctoral dissertation was the incidence and severity of sports injuries among North Carolina high school athletes. She has worked on a variety of health topics that have integrated her health behavior/health education and epidemiology backgrounds including tobacco use policy, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer. She worked as a policy analyst in the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tracking state tobacco laws. She was also the project coordinator for a statewide survey of voluntary indoor smoking policies at indoor recreational sites throughout North Carolina.