Samaah Sullivan, M.P.H., Ph.D. Assistant Professor School School of Public Health Department Public Health Biography Download Curriculum Vitae Dr. Samaah Sullivan is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in the Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health. She has a PhD in Epidemiology and minor in Biostatistics (LSUHSC, 2015), completed a T32 postdoctoral fellowship in cardiovascular epidemiology (Emory University, 2018), and also completed a Certificate in Clinical and Translational Medicine (Emory University, 2020). Dr. Sullivan's reserach focuses on understanding how biological embedding of psychosocial stress and social disadvantage can lead to adverse health outcomes, particularly among women. For example, she has applied this research lens to understand sex differences in experiences of stress, stress physiology, and adverse cardiovascular health outcomes. She is a former K12 BIRCWH (Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health) scholar and is currently funded through a K01 award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to understand the role of gonadal aging on stress physiology, particularly inflammatory and vascular responses, in order to clarify stress-related pathways that may increase vulnerability toward cardiovascular disease in women. Research Interest Cardiovascular Health Epidemiological Methods Health Disparities Psychosocial stress Sex Differences Social determinants of health Women's Health Disparities Publications Featured Publications The Role of Psychosocial Stress on Cardiovascular Disease in Women: JACC State-of-the-Art Review. Ebong IA, Quesada O, Fonkoue IT, Mattina D, Sullivan S, Oliveira GMM, Spikes T, Sharma J, Commodore Y, Ogunniyi MO, Aggarwal NR, Vaccarino V, J Am Coll Cardiol 2024 Jul 84 3 298-314 Sex Differences in Vascular Response to Mental Stress and Adverse Cardiovascular Events Among Patients With Ischemic Heart Disease. Sullivan S, Young A, Garcia M, Almuwaqqat Z, Moazzami K, Hammadah M, Lima BB, Hu Y, Jajeh MN, Alkhoder A, Elon L, Lewis TT, Shah AJ, Mehta PK, Bremner JD, Quyyumi AA, Vaccarino V, Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2023 Apr 43 4 e112-e120 Gender Disparities Between Neighborhood Social Vulnerability and Psychological Distress Among Patients with Heart Disease. Sullivan S, Young A, Garcia M, Almuwaqqat Z, Moazzami K, Hammadah M, Lima BB, Driggers EG, Levantsevych O, Alkhalaf M, Jajeh MN, Alkhoder A, Elon L, Gooding H, Lewis TT, Shah AJ, Bremner JD, Quyyumi AA, Vaccarino V, J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2022 Aug Sex differences in the inflammatory response to stress and risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes among patients with coronary heart disease. Sullivan S, Young A, Hammadah M, Lima BB, Levantsevych O, Ko YA, Pearce BD, Shah AJ, Kim JH, Moazzami K, Driggers EG, Haffar A, Ward L, Herring I, Hankus A, Lewis TT, Mehta PK, Bremner JD, Raggi P, Quyyumi A, Vaccarino V, Brain Behav Immun 2020 Nov 90 294-302 Low socioeconomic status and depression: A double jeopardy for cardiovascular disease? Sullivan S, Vaccarino V, J Psychosom Res 2019 Jun 121 6-7 An investigation of racial/ethnic and sex differences in the association between experiences of everyday discrimination and leukocyte telomere length among patients with coronary artery disease. Sullivan S, Hammadah M, Al Mheid I, Shah A, Sun YV, Kutner M, Ward L, Blackburn E, Zhao J, Lin J, Bremner JD, Quyyumi AA, Vaccarino V, Lewis TT, Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019 Mar 106 122-128 Neighborhood poverty and hemodynamic, neuroendocrine, and immune response to acute stress among patients with coronary artery disease. Sullivan S, Kelli HM, Hammadah M, Topel M, Wilmot K, Ramadan R, Pearce BD, Shah A, Lima BB, Kim JH, Hardy S, Levantsevych O, Obideen M, Kaseer B, Ward L, Kutner M, Hankus A, Ko YA, Kramer MR, Lewis TT, Bremner JD, Quyyumi A, Vaccarino V, Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019 02 100 145-155 Young Women With Coronary Artery Disease Exhibit Higher Concentrations of Interleukin-6 at Baseline and in Response to Mental Stress. Sullivan S, Hammadah M, Wilmot K, Ramadan R, Pearce BD, Shah A, Kaseer B, Gafeer MM, Lima BB, Kim JH, Ward L, Ko YA, Lewis TT, Hankus A, Elon L, Li L, Bremner JD, Raggi P, Quyyumi A, Vaccarino V, J Am Heart Assoc 2018 12 7 23 e010329 Mental Stress-Induced-Myocardial Ischemia in Young Patients With Recent Myocardial Infarction: Sex Differences and Mechanisms. Vaccarino V, Sullivan S, Hammadah M, Wilmot K, Al Mheid I, Ramadan R, Elon L, Pimple PM, Garcia EV, Nye J, Shah AJ, Alkhoder A, Levantsevych O, Gay H, Obideen M, Huang M, Lewis TT, Bremner JD, Quyyumi AA, Raggi P Circulation 2018 Feb 137 8 794-805 Sex Differences in Hemodynamic and Microvascular Mechanisms of Myocardial Ischemia Induced by Mental Stress. Sullivan S, Hammadah M, Al Mheid I, Wilmot K, Ramadan R, Alkhoder A, Isakadze N, Shah A, Levantsevych O, Pimple PM, Kutner M, Ward L, Garcia EV, Nye J, Mehta PK, Lewis TT, Bremner JD, Raggi P, Quyyumi AA, Vaccarino V, Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2018 02 38 2 473-480 Results 1-10 of 11 1 2 Next Last Honors & Awards American Heart Association Reseach Goes Red Data Challenge - 3rd place, 2023 American Heart Association Travel Award for Data Bootcamp (2024) K12 BIRCWH Scholar at Emory University (2018-2020) NIH BIRCWH Podium Speaker (2019) NIH Loan Repayment Award Psychosomatic Medicine Early Career Editorial Board UTSW Leadership Emerging in Academic Departments (LEAD) Program - 2025 Professional Associations/Affiliations Amerian Heart Association
