People

Saba Shaddy
Shaddy K. Saba, PhD, LCSW
NYU Silver School of Social Work - Assistant Professor
Education
PhD, Social Work, University of Southern California
MA, Clinical Social Work, University of Chicago
BA, Business Economics, University of California Santa Barbara
Research Interests
Development and treatment of physical pain, mental health, and substance use disorders, traumatic and adverse experiences, military and veteran behavioral health, data science and technology for behavioral health, contemplative (e.g., mindfulness-based) interventions
BIO
Shaddy Saba is an Assistant Professor at the NYU Silver School of Social Work and a licensed clinical social worker. Dr. Saba studies behavioral health among vulnerable populations, including military veterans and young people who have experienced trauma. Much of his research is focused on the intersections between physical pain and behavioral health problems. Dr. Saba’s work is highly interdisciplinary, and he utilizes both theory-guided and data-driven research methodologies to explore how co-occurring problems develop and impact one another. An overarching goal of Dr. Saba’s research is to inform better targeted and more accessible interventions for vulnerable populations. He also works to advance the use of innovative analytic methods and technology (e.g., data science, digital interventions) in the field of social work. Dr. Saba’s research is informed by over a decade of clinical practice experience in mental health, substance use, and chronic pain treatment settings.
Projects
Principal Investigator, Predicting SUD after Trauma: Leveraging Audiovisual Data in the Emergency Department. Active
Publications

Recent

Davis JP, Saba SK, Leightley D, Pedersen ER, Prindle J, Senator B, Dilkina B, Dworkin E, Howe E, Cantor J, Sedano A (2025).
Daily associations between sleep quality, stress, and cannabis or alcohol use among veterans
Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 271, 112661. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112661.

Saba SK, Lavista Ferres JM, Weeks WB (2025).
Leveraging public data: Changes in local economic distress and drug overdose deaths at the county level, 2000-2019
International Journal of Public Health, 70, 1607991. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2025.1607991. PMCID: PMC11884982.

Davis JP, Pedersen ER, Borsari B, Bowen S, Owen JE, Sedano A, Tran DD, Saba S, Fitzke RE, Delacruz J, Canning L (2025).
Effects of a mobile mindfulness smartphone app on posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and alcohol use problems for veterans: A pilot randomized controlled trial
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 93 (2), 96-109. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000940.

Saba SK, Lee JO, Rousson AN, Hong SH, Herrenkohl TI (2024).
The association between childhood sexual abuse and somatic symptoms at midlife: The roles of depression and intimate partner relationship quality
Journal of Family Violence [Epub 2024 Dec 30]. doi: 10.1007/s10896-024-00800-1.

Saba SK, Black DS (2024).
Prior 8-month substance use trajectories predict psychological functioning at start of residential treatment
Journal of Psychology and Clinical Psychiatry, 15 (6), 325-328. doi: 10.15406/jpcpy.2024.15.00799.


Notable

Saba SK, Black DS (2023).
Psychometric assessment of the Applied Mindfulness Process Scale (AMPS) among a sample of women in treatment for substance use disorder
Mindfulness, 14 (6), 1406-1418. doi: 10.1007/s12671-023-02144-1.

Dr. Saba's Google Scholar Profile