Sarah Jessup, Ph.D.

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Sarah worked as an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Jonathan Abramowitz’s Anxiety and Stress Disorders lab. As an RA, Sarah’s work focused on a study about managing intrusive thoughts for individuals with OCD. Sarah also worked on a randomized controlled trial intervention study, delivering exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy to individuals with arachnophobia. Her honors thesis focused on anxiety sensitivity and posttraumatic stress symptoms in sexual assault survivors.

After UNC, Sarah moved to Nashville and began working in EARL as a post-baccalaureate research analyst. Her primary role was serving as study coordinator on Dr. Olatunji’s “OCD Endo” study, which explores disgust as a distinct OCD endophenotype.
2013-2017 Bachelor of Science in Psychology (with distinction) and a Minor in Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Honors Thesis (awarded highest honors): Anxiety Sensitivity and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Sexual Assault Survivors

2017-2019 Post-Baccalaureate Research Analyst, Emotion & Anxiety Research Lab, Vanderbilt University

2019- 2024 Vanderbilt University, graduate student

2024-2025 Clinical Internship, McLean Hospital at Harvard University