Rate My Professor Sara Sarasua

Sara M. Sarasua, PhD, MSPH, is a genetic epidemiologist and associate professor in the School of Nursing's Healthcare Genetics and Genomics interdisciplinary Doctoral Program at Clemson University, where she serves as Program Coordinator. She earned her PhD in Genetics from Clemson University in 2012, MSPH in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and BA in Biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. Sarasua's research specializations include genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics, with a focus on the etiology of Phelan-McDermid syndrome (22q13 deletion syndrome), adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder syndrome), and genomic analysis of speech and language delay, seizures, birth defects, and developmental delay. She utilizes zebrafish models and investigates social media in health research. She collaborates with investigators at Prisma Health and the Greenwood Genetic Center, promoting interdisciplinary work.

Sarasua's career at Clemson University builds on her doctoral dissertation, "Analysis of Genotype, Phenotype, and Age Progression in Phelan-McDermid Syndrome" (2012). Her key publications encompass "Head size in Phelan-McDermid syndrome: A literature review and pooled analysis of 1980 patients identifies candidate genes on 22q13" (Genes, 2023), "Sleep disturbances in Phelan-McDermid syndrome: Clinical and metabolic profiling of 56 individuals" (Clinical Genetics, 2023), "Genetics of kidney disorders in Phelan-McDermid syndrome: evidence from 357 registry participants" (Pediatric Nephrology, 2023), and "Position effects of 22q13 rearrangements on candidate genes in Phelan-McDermid syndrome" (PLoS One, 2021). With over 39 publications and more than 2,300 citations documented on Google Scholar, her contributions elucidate genotype-phenotype correlations in rare disorders. She received the Junior Tenure Track Outstanding Teaching Award from the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences in 2024 and has obtained seed grant funding, including from the Health Sciences Center and SC TRIMH for projects on adhesive capsulitis etiology, epidemiology, and translational research.