Sarit A. Golub, PhD, MPH

Ph.D., Harvard University, 2004
M.P.H., Columbia University, 1998

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
New Science Building A352
(718) 997-3244
sarit_golub@qc.edu

My primary research interest is the impact of important life events on the formation and maintenance of individual identity, with special emphasis on the treatment and prevention of chronic illness. My research program investigates the cognitive and emotional strategies used to cope with illness threat, and the impact of different strategies on experience (both of prevention and treatment) and behavior (both health-seeking and risk-taking). Working with patients with HIV, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer, my research explores the different ways individuals understand the relationship between self and illness, and the impact of these differences on health-related quality of life, treatment adherence, and risk-taking. Another line of research investigates the relationship between individuals’ optimistic versus fatalistic expectations about their risk of future HIV infection and risk-taking behavior over time. This research is drawn from a larger set of questions examining the role of expectations in shaping identity, and the role of identity in shaping behavior.

My research is informed by my experience working in community-based and hospital settings for over ten years. I am a native New Yorker, and have the distinction of having held a job in each of the five boroughs.