Sarah Henrickson Parker

Sarah Henrickson Parker, Ph.D., is a Research Associate Professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and in the Department of Psychology, College of Science, Virginia Tech. She is also an Associate Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Basic Science Education at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM), where she chairs Health Systems and Implementation Science and directs Human Factors Research at Carilion Clinic. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on optimizing team performance and patient safety in high-risk healthcare environments.

• Ph.D., Psychology – University of Aberdeen, Scotland
• M.A., Psychology, Human Factors and Applied Cognition – George Mason University
• B.A., Psychology – Wittenberg University

Dr. Parker’s research integrates human factors, systems engineering, computational modeling, and industrial/organizational psychology to study clinical team dynamics in settings such as the ICU, operating room, and outpatient clinics. Her lab explores questions like what makes a team effective, how feedback influences behavior, and how to conduct real-time patient risk assessment.

Her recent publications emphasize surgical leadership, team coordination, AI integration in healthcare, and stress management in clinical environments. These works reflect a strong trend toward using data-driven and simulation-based methods to improve healthcare delivery, safety, and provider well-being.

• 2023 Research Mentor of the Year Award, VTCSOM
• Visiting Professor in Simulation Education, Mayo Clinic (2014)
• Pitch Day Finalist, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2013)
• Best Poster Award, MedStar Health Research Institute (2014)
• Alphonse Chapanis Best Student Paper Finalist, HFES (2012)

Dr. Parker has mentored over 22 students, including 14 medical students, and has secured funding from the NIH, NSF, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She emphasizes integrity, curiosity, and critical inquiry in her mentorship. The Parker Lab collaborates with Virginia Tech, Carilion Clinic, and the Center for Simulation, Research, and Patient Safety, fostering a translational research environment that bridges laboratory findings with frontline clinical practice.