Research Summary

Sara Ackerman, PhD, MPH, is a medical anthropologist, Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Director of Bioethics and Regulatory Support at UCSF’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Dr. Ackerman conducts empirical ethics research using qualitative methods and public engagement to advance our understanding of how genomics, artificial intelligence and other emerging medical technologies shape the lived experience of patients, caregivers and communities.

Education

Smith College, BA, 06/1987, Psychology
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, MPH, 06/2000, Health Behavior and Health Education
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, PhD, 06/2009, Medical Anthropology

Honors & Awards

  • 2014
    Department of Medicine's Quality and Safety Innovation Challenge Award, UCSF
  • 2013
    Diana Forsythe Award, American Medical Informatics Association
  • 2000
    Kathryn J. Kerr Memorial Award for Community Activism, UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health
  • 1999
    Lucy S. Morgan Award for Leadership, UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health

Selected Publications

  1. Ackerman SL, Wing H, Pisciotta M, Hessler Jones D, Gottlieb LM. How High-Performing Community Health Clinics Accomplish Social Risk Screening. J Am Board Fam Med. 2026 Feb 27; 38(6):1064-1074. View on PubMed
  2. Hernandez Y, Gonzalez N, Ghanshani R, Castillo Valladares HB, Amerson EH, Naik HB, Hsiao JL, James J, Ackerman SL, Chang AY. Health System Experiences and Care Engagement in Latine Patients With Hidradenitis Suppurativa. JAMA Dermatol. 2026 Feb 01; 162(2):151-156. View on PubMed
  3. Tsao LR, Chang AL, Qin JZ, Ackerman SL, Irani RA, Otani IM. "I wish someone said along the way": Patient perspectives on penicillin allergy evaluation during pregnancy. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2026 Jan; 136(1):105-107. View on PubMed
  4. MacDuffie KE, Ackerman SL, Cadigan RJ, Goldenberg AJ, Lemke AA, McNamera KC, Reynolds E, Yu JH, Brothers KB. Should a Genomic Diagnosis be a Ticket or a Roadmap? Threats to Equity in the Pursuit of Developmental Services in Early Childhood. Am J Bioeth. 2025 Dec; 25(12):32-40. View on PubMed
  5. Bonini KE, Desrosiers-Battu LR, Foreman AKM, Sahin-Hodoglugil NN, Majumder MA, Finnila CR, Kraft SA, Amendola LM, Kenny EE, Fullerton SM, Ackerman SL, Wilfond BS, McGuire AL, Smith HS. When families bridge the research-clinical divide: An exploration of values regarding cascade screening in genomic research. Genet Med Open. 2025; 3:103440. View on PubMed
  6. Hessler D, Marino M, Kaufmann J, Gold R, King A, Wing H, Donovan J, Pisciotta M, Ackerman S, Goldberg B, Gottlieb LM. The Combined and Comparative Impacts of Financial Incentives Versus Practice Facilitation Implementation Support for Social Risk Screening in Community Health Centers. Health Serv Res. 2025 May; 60 Suppl 3:e14448. View on PubMed
  7. Biesecker BB, Ackerman SL, Brothers KB, East KM, Foreman AKM, Hindorff LA, Horowitz CR, Jarvik GP, Knight SJ, Leo MC, Patrick DL, Rini C, Robinson JO, Sahin-Hodoglugil NN, Slavotinek A, Suckiel SA, Veenstra DL, Zinberg RE, Hunter JE. Genomic sequencing in diverse and underserved pediatric populations: Parent perspectives on understanding, uncertainty, psychosocial impact, and personal utility of results. Genet Med. 2025 Apr; 27(4):101363. View on PubMed
  8. Swanson K, Norton ME, Ackerman SL, Lianoglou BR, Sahin-Hodoglugil NN, Sparks TN. Patient understanding of prenatal exome sequencing. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2024 Nov; 6(11):101490. View on PubMed
  9. Bell J, Gottlieb LM, Lyles CR, Nguyen OK, Ackerman SL, De Marchis EH. Provision of digital devices and internet connectivity to improve synchronous telemedicine access in the U.S.: a systematic scoping review. Front Digit Health. 2024; 6:1408170. View on PubMed
  10. Outram SM, Brown JEH, Norstad M, Zamora AN, Ackerman SL. Experts' Views on Children's Access to Community-Based Therapeutic and Education Services After Genomic Sequencing Results. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2024 Sep-Oct 01; 45(5):e456-e462. View on PubMed
  11. Zamora AN, Brown JEH, Outram S, Ackerman SL. Using visual storytelling to share aggregate findings with families participating in clinical genomics research. Genet Med Open. 2024; 2:101844. View on PubMed
  12. Mavura Y, Sahin-Hodoglugil N, Hodoglugil U, Kvale M, Martin PM, Van Ziffle J, Devine WP, Ackerman SL, Koenig BA, Kwok PY, Norton ME, Slavotinek A, Risch N. Genetic ancestry and diagnostic yield of exome sequencing in a diverse population. NPJ Genom Med. 2024 Jan 03; 9(1):1. View on PubMed
  13. Wadhwani SI, Alvarado A, Shifman HP, Bautista B, Yalung J, Squires JE, Campbell K, Ebel NH, Hsu E, Vittorio J, Zielsdorf S, Desai DM, Bucuvalas JC, Gottlieb L, Kotagal U, Lyles CR, Ackerman SL, Lai JC. Caregivers' and providers' perspectives of social and medical care after pediatric liver transplant: Results from the multicenter SOCIAL-Tx study. Liver Transpl. 2024 Jul 01; 30(7):717-727. View on PubMed
  14. Wilkerson K, De Marchis E, Rudd N, Williams JC, Pantell M, Ackerman SL, Amerson EH, Chang AY. Patient Perspectives on Social Risk Screening and Documentation in a Dermatology Clinic. JAMA Dermatol. 2023 12 01; 159(12):1346-1358. View on PubMed
  15. Slavotinek A, Rego S, Sahin-Hodoglugil N, Kvale M, Lianoglou B, Yip T, Hoban H, Outram S, Anguiano B, Chen F, Michelson J, Cilio RM, Curry C, Gallagher RC, Gardner M, Kuperman R, Mendelsohn B, Sherr E, Shieh J, Strober J, Tam A, Tenney J, Weiss W, Whittle A, Chin G, Faubel A, Prasad H, Mavura Y, Van Ziffle J, Devine WP, Hodoglugil U, Martin PM, Sparks TN, Koenig B, Ackerman S, Risch N, Kwok PY, Norton ME. Author Correction: Diagnostic yield of pediatric and prenatal exome sequencing in a diverse population. NPJ Genom Med. 2023 Oct 23; 8(1):34. View on PubMed
  16. Sahin-Hodoglugil NN, Lianoglou BR, Ackerman S, Sparks TN, Norton ME. Access to prenatal exome sequencing for fetal malformations: A qualitative landscape analysis in the US. Prenat Diagn. 2023 10; 43(11):1394-1405. View on PubMed
  17. Outram SM, Rego S, Norstad M, Ackerman S. The Need to Standardize the Reanalysis of Genomic Sequencing Results: Findings from Interviews with Underserved Families in Genomic Research. J Bioeth Inq. 2024 03; 21(1):95-104. View on PubMed
  18. Ge J, Fontil V, Ackerman S, Pletcher MJ, Lai JC. Clinical decision support and electronic interventions to improve care quality in chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis. Hepatology. 2025 Apr 01; 81(4):1353-1364. View on PubMed
  19. Lopez JM, Wing H, Ackerman SL, Hessler D, Gottlieb LM. Community Health Center Staff Perspectives on Financial Payments for Social Care. Milbank Q. 2023 12; 101(4):1304-1326. View on PubMed
  20. Sara L. Ackerman, Holly Wing, Benjamín Aceves, Maura Pisciotta, Danielle Hessler, Laura M. Gottlieb. “We were trying to do quality versus quantity”: Challenges and opportunities at the intersection of standardized and personalized social care in community health centers. SSM - Qualitative Research in Health. 2023 Jun 1; 3:100267. View on PubMed

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