Sarah Brothers

Sarah Brothers is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at the School of Public Policy, Pennsylvania State University. Her research focuses on medical sociology, substance use, and marginalized populations, with expertise in qualitative methods and ethnography. She holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and a B.A. from UC Berkeley. Her work has been supported by prestigious fellowships including the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship.

Her research examines vulnerable groups’ experiences with healthcare, including methadone treatment during the pandemic, youth homelessness, and HIV/HCV treatment perspectives. Notable projects include studies on assisted injection practices, patient activism in methadone treatment, and barriers to opioid use disorder treatments for women. She has published in journals like Social Science & Medicine, Aids and Behavior, and the International Journal of Drug Policy.

Awards include the Simmons’ Award for Outstanding Dissertation in Medical Sociology from the ASA. Her work emphasizes participatory research with drug-using communities and advocates for evidence-based interventions to address health disparities.