Dara H. Sorkin, PhD, is a faculty associate at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). She is also the director for community engagement at UCI's Institute of Clinical and Translational Science.
Sorkin is a health services researcher trained in lifespan developmental and health psychology with extensive experience in developing and testing health promotion interventions for diverse populations, particularly ethnic/racially diverse older adults, using social networks, innovative incentives and interventions, and the use of mobile technologies. Sorkin has forged lasting relationships with numerous community clinics in both Los Angeles and Orange County that provide high-quality, comprehensive safety net services to under-resourced populations.
Sorkin also has extensive experience working with large interdisciplinary teams to design and implement large-scale, randomized controlled trials based in both primary care medical settings, as well as in community settings working with patients who are ethnically/racially diverse. A large component of her research includes incorporating dissemination and implementation science into the study of translation of evidence-based interventions for health care and community settings. Her selected current projects include a formative evaluation of a three-year demonstration project that is funded and directed by the State of California. The primary purpose of the project is to increase access to mental health care and support and to promote early detection of mental health symptoms, or even predict the onset of mental illness through the utilization of multiform-factor devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets) as a mode of connection and treatment to reach people who are likely to go either unserved or underserved by traditional mental health care.
Sorkin received her undergraduate degree in psychology and sociology at Middlebury College and her doctorate in psychology and social behavior at UCI.
