Dr. Sara Jahnke received her doctorate in Counseling Psychology with a health emphasis from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She completed the American Heart Association’s Fellowship in the Epidemiology and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and is a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology. She has over a decade of research experience on firefighter health, has led more than a dozen national studies on the health of the fire service, and has served on several others as a co-investigator. Her work has focused on a range of health concerns, including the health of female firefighters, behavioral health, risk of injury, cancer, cardiovascular risk factors, and substance use, with funding from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant R&D Program, the National Institutes of Health, and other foundations. Jahnke has more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed medical literature. 

Awards include the 2019 Endowed Lecture at the annual conference of the American College of Epidemiology; the 2018 President’s Award for Excellence in Fire Service Research as well as the Excellence in Research, Safety, Health & Survival Award, both from the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC); and the 2016 John Granito Award for Excellence in Firefighter Research from the International Journal of Fire Service Leadership and Management. She serves on the Board of Directors for several organizations including the Center for Public Safety Education (CPSE), the Missouri Cancer Trust, and the NFPA Research Foundation.

Dr. Jahnke has published both qualitative and quantitative articles in the areas of obesity, tobacco, and health behaviors.

She is also the director and a senior scientist with the Center for Fire, Rescue & EMS Health Research at the National Development & Research Institutes - USA. Dr. Jahnke has served as the principal investigator or co-investigator for several studies funded by the Department of Homeland Security, the National Institutes of Health, and the American Heart Association. She is an active member of the Safety, Health, and Survival section of IAFC and is called on regularly to be a consultant on health-related topics for that committee.