Sarah Haas is a first-year master’s student in the Department of Population Health Sciences. She studied Medical Sociology and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During this time, she became interested in the bioethical concerns presented by genomic medicine. Her undergraduate thesis explored the exacerbation of racial disparities in breast cancer prevalence through genetic screening for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.
Sarah works on the Bass Connections Data Science in Clinical Care project, led by Dr. Nina Sperber and Dr. Adam Johnson. The team uses participatory systems dynamics modeling with clinicians at Duke to understand why the use of a readmission risk score has declined since the tool's implementation. She also collaborates with Dr. Jennifer Cohen, a medical geneticist, on a project aimed at advancing precision care in pregnancy through an actionable fetal findings list, using diverse genomic data to ensure equitable outcomes. They analyze data from All of Us Research, the most diverse genomic database in the United States.
Sarah is passionate about the equitable and ethical implementation of new technologies in healthcare. To her, personalized medicine has the potential to improve population health and should be implemented in a way that focuses on equity. Outside of her academic pursuits, Sarah enjoys biking, collaging, and hanging out with her two cats.