Sarah M. Collier, PhD
About
Dr. Sarah Collier is an Associate Professor in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and core faculty in the Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health Program.
Dr. Collier is trained in plant genetics and soil science, and much of her research has focused on agricultural sustainability. She completed her PhD in Plant Breeding at Cornell University, where she was a recipient of both the Munger/Murphy Award and the Barbara McClintock Award. She also received a competitive NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and an interdisciplinary NSF Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability Postdoctoral Fellowship to support her research and outreach related to agricultural climate change mitigation and adaptation at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Prior to coming to UW she served as Director of Programs at Tilth Alliance.
Dr. Collier is broadly interested in exploring complexities, trade-offs, and co-benefits associated with food system sustainability and resilience, and the ways in which beneficial changes and adaptations are identified, evaluated, and implemented. Her work spans food production systems, including fruits and vegetables, grains and legumes, forages, animal agriculture, and aquaculture, and also examines human decision-making.
Education
- PhD, Cornell University
- BSc, University of Washington
Affiliations
Core Faculty, Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health ProgramAdjunct Assistant Professor, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Mentorship
Not available to mentor new students in autumn 2027. Please follow the instructions on the How To Apply page.
DEOHS Students Mentored
Assessing the Potential of Local Seaweed as an Agricultural Soil Amendment: Carbon, Nutrient, and Contaminant Profiling of Ulva spp. from Puget Sound
Rica Mae Pagay Monis | MS Thesis | 2025 | View
Research
Interests: Sustainable food systems. Agricultural sustainability. Resilient systems. Climate change mitigation and adaptation. Soil health and quality. Complexity, trade-offs, and co-benefits.
Projects:
Blue Carbon, Green Fields: This project seeks to connect farmers and to mobilize marine algae as a climate solution for both sea and soil in the Pacific Northwest.
Complexity and Tradeoffs in Animal Agriculture: This project examines sources of complexity in livestock and poultry meat production systems, focusing on producer and consumer conceptualizations of sustainability and exploring the factors that erode or build trust between stakeholder groups.
Diverse Perennial Circular Systems: This project focuses on improving the resilience of U.S. agricultural systems through supporting both biophysical and socioeconomic research and outreach to support adoption of diverse perennial systems for livestock feed production.
From Soil to Society: This project in collaboration with the WSU Bread Lab focuses on improving human health and nutrition through the development and mobilization of healthy, climate-friendly grains and legumes in the region's food system.
Publications
Selected publications
- Exploring linkages between soil health and human health
- How Do We Know What We Know About Consumer Attitudes Towards Meat Sustainability? A Scoping Review of Studies Published Globally Between 2010–2022
- Distinct worldviews determine how meat producers navigate competing sustainability priorities in the United States
- Confidence and uncertainty: Small-scale, direct-marketing vegetable farmers’ relationship with climate change adaptation and mitigation
- A sea-to-soil solution for the green tides threatening shellfish aquaculture: conceptual model and lessons learned from a pilot project
Engagement
Community and research partnerships
Within UW, I have ongoing collaborations with researchers and outreach specialists in the College of the Environment, Washington Sea Grant, and UW-Bothell.
External collaborators include:
- Viva Farms
- Puget Sound Restoration Fund
- University of Minnesota
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Washington State University
- Baywater Shellfish
Service
- FSNH Associate Director for Scholarship and Faculty Engagement
- FSNH Budget and Management Committee
- SPH Research Council
- SPH Faculty Council
- UW Faculty Council on Campus Planning and Stewardship