Sara Vargas, PhD, is Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown Medical School and Research Scientist at the Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at the Miriam Hospital. Dr. Vargas earned her doctoral degree from the University of Miami and completed her postdoctoral training at Brown.
Dr. Vargas applies mixed (i.e., quantitative and qualitative) and community-based participatory research methods to the development of assessment tools and interventions to enable people to have equitable access to the knowledge, motivation, and skills needed to engage in healthy behaviors and lifestyles. Her work focuses on sexual and reproductive health behaviors in military and civilian populations and health-related quality of life (including sexual health-related quality of life) among individuals with chronic illness. In addition to her primary research portfolio, Dr. Vargas collaborates with various colleagues at Brown and within the Lifespan Health System utilizing her mixed methods expertise to lead process evaluation efforts as well as to conduct and supervise the collection and analysis of qualitative and mixed methods data.
