Sarah L. Lake, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Period of Service

August 2013 - November 2014 Sarah Lake, Ph.D. completed her postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in the Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory and Clinic (NRLC). In her time with the NRLC her research focused on impulse control and biomarkers of alcohol use among binge drinking in adults. Her fellowship was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse: Training in Drug Abuse Research: Behavior and Neurobiology (T32-DA031115).

Research Projects

Binge Drinking: Individual Differences in the Capacity to Alter Drinking Patterns
Phosphatidylethanol and Other Ethanol Consumption Markers

After the NRLC

After her postdoc, Dr. Lake moved to Seattle went on to work as the inaugural Social Science Statistician for the Nordstrom Technology People Lab cultivating an inspired and productive culture within Nordstrom’s IT department. Specifically, she’s using her postdoctoral training in experimental design to inform employee engagement and help Nordstrom make data-driven investments in the workplace.

Presentations/Publications with the NRLC

The potential clinical utility of transdermal alcohol monitoring data to estimate the number of alcoholic drinks consumed
Dougherty, D. M., Hill-Kapturczak, N., Liang, Y., Karns, T. E., Lake, S. L., Cates, S. E., and Roache, J. D. (2015)

Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment, 14, 124-130.
Using contingency management procedures to reduce at-risk drinking in heavy drinkers
Dougherty, D. M., Lake, S. L., Hill-Kapturczak, N., Liang, Y., Karns, T. E., Mullen, J., and Roache, J. D. (2015).

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 39, 109-121.
Early adolescent trajectories of impulsiveness and sensation seeking in children of fathers with histories of alcohol and other substance use disorders
Acheson, A., Lake, S. L., Bray, B. C., Liang, Y., Mathias, C. W., Ryan, S. R., Charles, N. E., and Dougherty, D. M. (2016).

Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research,. 40, 2,622-2,630
Pubertal maturation compression and behavioral impulsivity among boys at increased risk for substance use
Mathias, C. W., Charles, N. E., Liang, Y., Acheson, A., Lake, S. L., Ryan, S. R., Olvera, R. L., and Dougherty, D. M. (2016).

Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment, 15, 61-73.
Clinical and social/environmental characteristics in a community sample of children with and without family histories of Substance Use Disorder in the San Antonio area: A descriptive study
Ryan, S. R., Acheson, A., Charles, N. E., Lake, S. L., Hernandez, D. L., Mathias, C. W., and Dougherty, D. M. (2016).

Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, 25, 327-339.
Family functioning as a mediator of relations between family history of Substance Use Disorder and impulsivity
Ryan, S. R., Friedman, C. K., Lake, S. L., Mathias, C. W., Charles, N. E., Liang, Y., Acheson, A., and Dougherty, D. M. (2016).

Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment, 15, 17-24.
Increased Pre- and Early-Adolescent Stress in Youth with a Family History of Substance Use Disorder and Early Substance Use Initiation
Charles, N. E., Mathias, C. W., Acheson, A., Bray, B. C., Ryan, S. R., Lake, S. L., Liang, Y, and Dougherty DM. (2015).

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 1954-1967.
Transdermal alcohol concentration data collected during a contingency management program to reduce at-risk drinking
Dougherty, D. M., Karns, T. E., Mullen, J., Liang, Y., Lake, S. L., Roache, J. D., and Hill-Kapturczak, N. (2015).

Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 148, 77-84.
Behavioral impulsivity and risk-taking trajectories across early adolescence in youths with and without family histories of alcohol and other drug use disorders
Dougherty, D. M., Lake, S. L., Mathias, C. W., Ryan, S. R., Bray, B. C., Charles, N. E., and Acheson, A. (2015).

Virtual Issue on Risk Factors for Adolescent Drinking
Effects of tryptophan depletion and a simulated alcohol binge on impulsivity.
Dougherty, D. M., Mullen, J., Hill-Kapturczak, N., Liang, Y., Karns, T. E., Lake, S. L., Mathias, C. M., and Roache, J. D. (2015).

Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 23, 109-121.
Assessing the validity of participant-derived compared to staff-derived values to compute a binge score
Lake, S. L., Hill-Kapturczak, N., Liang, Y., Roache, J. D., Mullen, J., Karns, T. E., and Dougherty, D. M. (2015).

Alcoholl and Alcoholism, 50, 413-419.
Aggression as a Predictor of Early Substance Use Initiation among Youth with Family Histories of Substance Use Disorders
Mathias, C. W., Duffing, T. M., Acheson, A., Charles, N. E., Lake, S. L., Ryan, S. R., Liang, Y., and Dougherty, D. M. (2015).

Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment, 14, 230-240.
Mechanisms of the pellagragenic effect of leucine: stimulation of hepatic tryptophan oxidation by administration of branched-chain amino acids to healthy human volunteers and the role of plasma free tryptophan and total kynurenines.
Badawy, A. A., Lake, S. L., Dougherty, D. M. (2014).

International Journal of Tryptophan Research, 7, 23-32.
Use of continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring during a contingency management procedure to reduce excessive alcohol use.
Dougherty, D. M., Hill-Kapturczak, N., Liang, Y., Karns, T. E., Cates, S. E., Lake, S. L., Mullen, J., and Roache, J. D. (2014).

Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 142, 301-306.
Do variable rates of alcohol drinking alter the ability to use transdermal alcohol monitors to estimate peak breath alcohol and total number of drinks?
Hill-Kapturczak, N., Lake, S.L., Roache, J.D., Cates, S.E., Liang, Y., and Dougherty, D.M. (2014).

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 38, 2517-2522.
Problem identification and community assessment of DWI needs for Bexar County, Texas
Mathias, C. W., Ryan, S. R., Mullen, J., Lake, S. L., Brown, P. C., Adams, V., Villafranca, C., and Dougherty, D. M. (2014).

Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services report 085144601.2.6: University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.
Fifty years of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale: An update and review.
Stanford, M. S., Mathias, C. W., Dougherty, D. M., Lake, S. L., Anderson, N. E., and Patton, J. H. (2009).

Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 385-395.