Sarah V. Vas, MD
Candidate for Regional Director
Region X - Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virgin Islands
Sarah V. Vas, MD is Triple Board Certified in Psychiatry (ABPN), in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (ABPN) and in Addiction Medicine (ABPM). Dr. Vas is most interested in prevention and treatment of substance use and mental illness in children and adolescents. In her fulltime faculty role at the University of Florida College of Medicine, she enjoys teaching Fellows, Residents, Medical Students and Undergraduates in clinical and didactic settings and was awarded the 2023 Exemplary Teacher Award from the University of Florida College of Medicine. She serves as the Director for the Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Core Rotation within the Pediatrics Residency Program and as Associate Program Director in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program. In addition to her faculty practice, Dr. Vas works in the University of Florida Behavioral Health Hub, a collaboration between Child Psychiatrists and Pediatricians in Northern Florida, to provide peer consultation and support to Pediatricians as they care for their patients.
Dr. Vas completed her undergraduate and graduate education at Washington University in St. Louis, graduating with magna cum laude honors. She went on to complete her medical education in Manipal University, graduating with summa cum laude honors. She completed one year of Internal Medicine and completed three years of Psychiatry Residency in Puerto Rico, transferring to the University of Florida to complete combined track Psychiatry Residency - Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Programs and followed by an Addiction Medicine Fellowship. Dr. Vas is involved in her community and participates in recovery-based activities. She enjoys music and loves spending time with her family.
Candidate Questionnaire Responses
1. What have been your greatest contributions to ASAM or to the field of addiction medicine over the last 10 years?
My greatest, daily, contribution to ASAM is in continually teaching the ubiquitous nature of Addiction within Medicine to Medical Students, Pediatrics Residents, Psychiatry Residents and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows, while emphasizing the importance of early identification and treatment of addictive behaviors and substance use in children and adolescents to prevent the development of addictions manifested during adulthood. We integrated substance use and addiction didactics into our curriculum for Child Psychiatry Fellows and for Pediatrics Residents. This teaching helps young providers understand the neurobiological basis of Addiction, with waxing and waning progressive course and poor prognosis without treatment, while emphasizing early identification, evidence-based, patient focused treatment, and that a recovery lifestyle is within reach.
Over the past 5 years, I have presented talks and posters related to Addiction topics and to the early identification of risk for Addiction along with Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment for Children and Adolescents at Regional and National Conferences, at Grand Rounds to outside Departments and health systems. I have observed that with didactic and clinical education, providers become confident about their own ability to screen, intervene and refer at risk patients to treatment.
As part of my clinical contributions, since 2019, we implemented Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment to our outpatient Child Psychiatry Clinic to identify children and adolescents using substances and to provide early intervention and treatment of their comorbid psychiatric and substance related conditions. We continue to expand the substance use subspecialty clinic for children and adolescents within the University of Florida, where we treat patients from Northern and Central Florida and the surrounding regions.
In the community, we have a growing group of individuals, who comprise the Bystander Overdose Action Team at the University of Florida, where passionate work attracts passionate people. We have been providing Opioid Overdose Awareness workshops to Departments in the College of Medicine and provide all attendees with Naloxone, through our connection with UF HealthStreet. We are expanding the effort to Undergraduate and Graduate students within UF and building collaborations with prehospital systems, underserved counties and school districts. I also serve as a member of the 4th Edition ASAM Adolescent Criteria writing group.
2. How would your election to the ASAM Board of Directors benefit ASAM and the field of addiction medicine?
As a fellowship trained and board certified Addictionologist and Child Psychiatrist, in my academic, clinical and collaborative roles with leaders from prehospital systems and community settings, I am dedicated to the prevention and treatment of addictive disorders. I will continue to educate current and future physicians, including medical students, residents and fellows in efforts to reduce the stigma associated with the disease of Addiction.
As an active member of American Society of Addiction Medicine (and Florida Society of Addiction Medicine Regional Chapter) and a Founding Member of the American College of Academic Addiction Medicine, I will continue to advocate for evidence based, affordable treatments for addictive disorders and comorbidities along with wraparound services at the Local, Statewide and National levels.
I would be honored to partner with leaders in ASAM and in the community. Thank you for taking time to review my application and for your consideration.