Sarah (Birman) Leighton

I am a PhD candidate in Social and Personality Psychology and a One Health Research Fellow at the University of Arizona. I hold a BA in neurobiology & behavior from Cornell University and an MS in human-animal interaction from Purdue University. My career focuses on the role of service dog partnerships in biopsychosocial outcomes for people with disabilities by putting strong science behind service dog partners’ stories and experiences. My work has influenced healthcare recommendations, policy changes, and innovative practitioner applications. I have been named the 2024 APA/APAGS Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology.

Research Interests:

• Examining the role of human-animal interaction in enhancing human mental health and wellness.
• Understanding the influence of service dogs on biopsychosocial outcomes for individuals with disabilities, including veterans with PTSD and children with autism.
• Growing the empirical evidence base underlying the complimentary intervention of service dog placement.

Selected Publications:

• Leighton, S. C., Rodriguez, K. E., Jensen, C. L., MacLean, E. L., Davis, L. W., Ashbeck, E. L., Bedrick, E. J., O’Haire, M. E. (2024). Service dogs for veterans and military members with posttraumatic stress disorder: a nonrandomized controlled trial. JAMA Network Open. 2024;7(6):e2414686. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.14686
• Leighton, S. C., Rodriguez, K. E., Zhuang, R., Jensen, C. L., Miller, E. A., Sabbaghi, A., O’Haire, M. E. (2023). Psychiatric service dog placements are associated with better daily psychosocial functioning for military veterans with PTSD. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001543
• Leighton, S. C., Rodriguez, K. E., Nieforth, L. N., O’Haire, M. E. (2023). Service dogs for autistic children and family system functioning: a constant comparative analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14:1210095. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1210095
• Leighton, S.C., Nieforth, L.O., Griffin, T.C., O’Haire, M.E. (2022). Researcher-practitioner interaction: collaboration to advance the field of human-animal interaction. Human-Animal Interactions. https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2022.0025
• Leighton, S.C., Nieforth, L.O., O’Haire, M.E. (2022). Assistance dogs for military veterans with PTSD: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-synthesis. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274960
• Richerson, J. T., Saunders, G. H., Skelton, K., Abrams, T., Storzbach, D., Fallon, M. T., Biswas, K., Wagner, T. H., Magruder, K. M., Stock, E. M., Mi, Z., Beaver, B. V., McGovern, S. R., Dorn, P. A., Huang, G. D., Frakt, A., Pizer, S., Birman Leighton, S., Kennedy, B. S., … Groer, S. (2020). A randomized trial of differential effectiveness of service dog pairing to improve quality of life for veterans with PTSD (p. 186). Department of Veterans Affairs. https://www.research.va.gov/REPORT-Study-of-Costs-and-Benefits-Associated-with-the-Use-of-Service-Dogs-Monograph1.pdf. 

Awards and Recognitions:

• American Psychological Association (APA) Award: Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology (2024)
• College of Science Outstanding Scholarship Award (2024)
• Psychology Graduate Poster Session: Overall Winner (2024)
• Psychology Graduate Student Data Blitz presentation winner: 3rd-Year to Postdoc category (2023)
• Arizona Psychological Foundation (AZPF) Dissertation Award
• International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) Martha Bryant Award
• Psi Chi International Honor Society APA Convention Society Research Award
• University of Arizona Libraries Data Visualization Challenge, 2^nd place

Updated: 11/01/24