Sarah Roberts, DrPH

Sarah Roberts, DrPH, is a Professor and Legal Epidemiologist at ANSIRH, at the University of California, San Francisco. She studies policies and health care practices related to stigmatized and criminalized behaviors during pregnancy. Dr. Roberts' current research focuses on 1) using legal epidemiology methods to evaluate impacts of state-level pregnancy-specific alcohol and drug policies and impacts of state-level abortion policies on maternal and infant health; 2) understanding health care provider practices regarding reporting pregnant and birthing people to government authorities; and 3) pregnant people’s decision-making regarding using cannabis during pregnancy. Previously, Dr. Roberts has led research about public health approaches to abortion, the impacts of state-level abortion policies on people considering and seeking abortion, changes in alcohol and drug use subsequent to receiving versus being denied an abortion, and barriers to prenatal care for pregnant women who use drugs. Dr. Roberts has published more than 120-peer reviewed manuscripts and has received grant funding from multiple private foundations as well as the National Institutes of Health and other government agencies. Dr. Roberts co-led the Social Scientists’ Amicus Brief for the Supreme Court Case June v. Russo. Dr. Roberts received her undergraduate degree in history from Columbia University, her MPH and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from the University of Michigan, and her DrPH from the University of California, Berkeley. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Alcohol Epidemiology at the Alcohol Research Group.

For a full list of Dr. Roberts' publications, awards, and presentations, click here.