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Sarah Woolf-King

Sarah Woolf-King

Sarah Woolf-King

Associate Professor

CONTACT

Psychology
484 Marley Educational Building
Email: sewoolf@syr.edu

Degrees and Training

  • B.S., Psychology, Arizona State University
  • M.S., Clinical Psychology, Syracuse University
  • Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Syracuse University
  • M.P.H., Epidemiology, University of California, Berkeley
  • Predoctoral Internship, Behavioral Medicine, VA Palo Alto Health Care System
  • T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, UCSF
CV

Social/Academic Links

Courses Taught

  • PSY 382 Health Psychology
  • PSY 682 Physiological Health Psychology
  • PSY 624 Graduate Seminar in Psychological Methods
Research Interests

The majority of my work focuses on unhealthy alcohol use and behavioral aspects of HIV treatment and prevention. My lab works with college students, sexual and gender minorities, people with HIV (PWH), and people who drink alcohol at levels that increase risk for the development of alcohol use disorder. Ongoing research in the lab includes: internet-based studies of sexual behavior and substance use among U.S. college students, alcohol-associated sexual violence among college women, and a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for PWH who drink at hazardous levels. I am also involved with intervention development projects related to alcohol use and HIV/AIDS in East Africa.

Certification and Licensure
  • Licensed clinical psychologist, State of California.
  • Licensed clinical psychologist, State of New York.
Ongoing Research Projects

09/01/23 – 08/31/28 NIH/NIAAA R01 AA030935 (PI: Woolf-King)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for HIV+ hazardous drinkers: A randomized clinical trial

Description: The overall objective of this project is to determine the relative efficacy of ACT, compared to a standard Brief Alcohol Intervention (BI), for reducing alcohol use and comorbid symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among adult PWH who are hazardous drinkers. We will conduct a fully remote, relative efficacy RCT in which we randomly assign 300 PWH who are hazardous drinkers to either an ACT intervention we developed (n = 150), or a BI (n = 150). We will assess all outcomes at baseline, post-treatment, and again 3-, 6-, and 12-months post-randomization.

Total Costs: $2,615,693

Role: Principal Investigator


3/15/23 – 2/29/28 NIH/NIAAA R25 AA029830 (PI: Park)

The Syracuse University – Summer Training in Alcohol Research (SU-STAR) Program

Description: The Syracuse University-Summer Training in Alcohol Research (SU-STAR) program aims to help meet the nation's need for a diverse pool of talented scientists by enhancing underrepresented undergraduate students' participation in alcohol and health research and facilitating their admission into graduate school through an eight-week hands-on summer research internship program working with interdisciplinary faculty and graduate student mentors.

Total Costs: $494,580

Role: Co-Investigator and Co-Program Director

Selected Publications

Below is a list of representative publications. For a full list, please visit: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=y8XE09UAAAAJ&hl=en

*denotes student author

Woolf-King, S.E., *Firkey, M., *Foley, J., Bricker, J., Hahn, J, Asiago-Reddy, E., Wikier, J., *Moskal, D., *Sheinfil, A., *Ramos, J., Maisto, S.A. (2022). Development of a telephone-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention for people living with HIV who are hazardous drinkers. AIDS and Behavior, 26(9), 3029-3044.

*Firkey, M.K., *Tully, L.K., Bucci, V. M., Walsh, M. E., Maisto, S.A., Hahn, J.A., Bendinskas, K.G., Gump, B.B., & Woolf-King, S.E. (in press). Feasibility of Remote Self-Collection of Dried Blood Spots, Hair, and Nails Among People with HIV (PWH) who are Hazardous Drinkers. Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Woolf-King, S. E., *Sheinfil, A. Z., *Babowitch, J.D., Siedle-Khan, B., *Loitsch, A., Maisto, S. A. (2019). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for HIV-infected hazardous drinkers: A qualitative study of acceptability. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 37(3), 342-358.

Woolf-King, S. E., *Sheinfil, A., *Ramos, J., *Foley, J., *Moskal, D., Kellen, D., Maisto, S. A. (2021). A conceptual model of alcohol use and adherence to antiretroviral therapy: Systematic review and theoretical implications for mechanisms of action. Health Psychology Review, 16, 104-133.

*Sheinfil, A., *Foley, J., *Moskal, D., *Ramos, J., Dalton, M., *Firkey, M., Maisto, S.A., Woolf-King, S.E. (2022). Event-level associations between alcohol consumption and ART adherence among HIV-positive men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behavior, 26(10), 3153-3163.

News
Professor and Ph.D. Candidate from the Department of Psychology Awarded NIH Grants for Alcohol-Related Research and Treatment

(Dec. 4, 2023)

Professor Sarah Woolf-King received an NIH R01 clinical trial grant and Ph.D. candidate Fatima Dobani was awarded an NIH F31 dissertation research grant.

Psychologists Earn Rare Perfect Score on NIH Grant Application

(April 5, 2018)

Sarah Woolf-King, Stephen Maisto awarded "10" on grant proposal, funding treatment of HIV-infected hazardous drinkers