Sara Nowakowski

Dr. Sara Nowakowski is a tenure-track Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Section of Health Services Research at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, TX). She concurrently serves as an Investigator at two VA-affiliated centers: the Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (IQuESt) and the VA South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC). Certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine (CBSM, DBSM), her clinical and research focus bridges sleep science, women's health, and pragmatic interventions.

Her academic training includes a PhD from the San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program, an internship at Brown University's Alpert Medical School, and a fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Research interests center on:

• Behavioral Sleep Medicine: Developing non-pharmacological interventions for insomnia across life stages, with specialization in women's health (pregnancy, menopause).
• Hospital Recovery: Optimizing rehabilitation outcomes through sleep health protocols (e.g., post-arthroplasty care).
• Hybrid Trial Designs: Implementing pragmatic clinical trials to test real-world efficacy of behavioral sleep therapies.

Her extensive publication record (47+ articles) reveals thematic emphasis on sleep pathophysiology in reproductive transitions, CBT-I efficacy, and inflammatory/neuropsychological correlates of sleep disorders. Recent work prioritizes menopause-related sleep disturbances and hospital-based sleep interventions.

Awards include the North American Menopause Society New Investigator Award (2016). She maintains active membership in the Sleep Research Society and served as Past President of the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine (2016–2019).

She leads a $2.77M NIH/NINR grant (R01NR018342) examining cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in hospitalized older adults. Additional affiliations include the IQuESt Behavioral Health Program, where she contributes to innovation in quality and safety research.