Karolina Sadowska, MD

Karolina Sadowska

Undergraduate School
Columbia University

Medical School
Weill Cornell Medical College


 
 

Interests & Career Goals

Mental health and aging, psychotherapy, neuropsychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, health services research

Strengths of the Program

Warm and dedicated leadership, genuinely supportive resident community, great variety of training sites across different settings of care

Areas of Prior Research

Social determinants of health and mental health, food insecurity in older adults

Publications/Abstracts

  • Sadowska, K., Turnwald, M., O'Neil, T., Maust, D. T., & Gerlach, L. B. (2025). Behavioral symptoms and treatment challenges for patients living with dementia: Hospice clinician and caregiver perspectives. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 73(4), 1094-1104.

  • Sadowska, K., Fong, T., Horning, D. R., McAteer, S., Ekwebelem, M. I., Demetres, M., ... & Shalev, D. (2023). Psychiatric comorbidities and outcomes in palliative and end-of-life care: a systematic review. Journal of pain and symptom management, 66(1), e129-e151.

  • Sadowska, K. (2018). The socioeconomic and racial disparities in mental health care. Pathways: Stanford Journal of Public Health (SJPH), 7.

  • Shalev, D., Ekwebelem, M., Brody, L., Sadowska, K., Bhatia, S., Alvarez, D., ... & Reid, M. C. (2025). Clinician perspectives on palliative care for older adults with serious mental illnesses: A multisite qualitative study. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 33(3), 275-286.

  • Brody, L., Sadowska, K., Ekwebelem, M., Hollingsworth, A., Ong, M., Subramanian, T., ... & Shalev, D. (2024). Interventions for behavioral health comorbidities in the hospice setting: a scoping review. Annals of palliative medicine, 13(3), 575.

  • Forthal, S., Sadowska, K., Pike, K. M., Balachander, M., Jacobsson, K., & Hermosilla, S. (2022). Mental health first aid: A systematic review of trainee behavior and recipient mental health outcomes. Psychiatric services, 73(4), 439-446.

  • Hermosilla, S., Forthal, S., Sadowska, K., Magill, E. B., Watson, P., & Pike, K. M. (2023). We need to build the evidence: A systematic review of psychological first aid on mental health and well‐being. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 36(1), 5-16.

  • Montoya, M. I., Kogan, C. S., Rebello, T. J., Sadowska, K., Garcia-Pacheco, J. A., Khoury, B., ... & Reed, G. M. (2022). An international survey examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on telehealth use among mental health professionals. Journal of psychiatric research, 148, 188-196.

  • Kogan, C. S., Garcia-Pacheco, J. A., Rebello, T. J., Montoya, M. I., Robles, R., Khoury, B., ... & Reed, G. M. (2023). Longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stress and occupational well-being of mental health professionals: an international study. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 26(10), 747-760.

  • Kogan, C. S., Stein, D. J., Garcia-Pacheco, J. A., Rebello, T. J., Montoya, M. I., Robles, R., ... & Reed, G. M. (2024). COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among mental health professionals in the WHO’s global clinical practice network. PLOS Mental Health, 1(1), e0000018.

  • Flaxman, H. R., Hernandez, N. G., Critelli, B., Chong, B. K., Sadowska, K., Pain, K., & Gonzalez, C. J. (2024). Behavioral Weight Management Interventions for Hispanic Men in the United States: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Men's Health, 18(5), 15579883241290344.

  • Contributor (Cross-Cutting Literature Review Team, Data platform development, data collection and data management) to: World Health Organization. Clinical descriptions and diagnostic requirements for ICD-11 mental, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders. World Health Organization, 2024. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240077263

Poster Presentations

  • Jordan A, Sadowska K, Nowels M, Shalev D. 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society. Poster presented: Opioid Prescribing and Risk in Older Adults with Serious Illness: A Nationwide Clinician Survey. Chicago, IL, USA; 05/09/2025.

  • Jordan A, Sadowska K, Kim A, Parillon B, Demetres M, Nowels M, Ekwebelem M, Shalev D. 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society. Poster presented: Naloxone Prescribing for Older Adults in Geriatrics and Primary Care: A Scoping Review. Chicago, IL, USA; 05/09/2025.

  • Nowels M, Sadowska K, Unruh M, Reid CM, Riffin C, Saraiya M, Plys E, Shalev D. The Gerontological Society of America 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting. Poster presented: Staff-Identified Palliative Care Needs among Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE): A Survey Study. Boston, MA USA; 11/13/2025.

  • Nowels M, Sadowska K, Unruh M, Reid CM, Riffin C, Saraiya M, Plys E, Shalev D. The 21st European Geriatric Medicine Society Congress. Poster presented: Staff-Identified Palliative Care Needs among Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE): A Survey Study. Reykjavik, Iceland; 09/25/2025.

  • Brody L, Sadowska K, Ekwebelem M, Hollingsworth A, Ong M, Subramanian T, Wright D, Reid MC, Shalev D. The Gerontological Society of America 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting. Poster presented: Behavioral Health Interventions in the Hospice Setting: A Scoping Review. Tampa, FL, USA; 11/09/2023.

  • Flaxman H, Chong B, Sadowska K, Critelli B, Gonzalez C. Cornell Center for Health Equity Symposium. Poster presented: Behavioral Weight Management Interventions for Hispanic Men in the United States. . New York, NY, USA; 10/21/2022.

  • Karam CS, Williams B, Neureiter E, Moarkech C, Sadowska K, Boutin A, Javitch JA. National Institute on Drug Abuse Genetics Consortium Meeting. Poster presented: Delineating The Genetic Basis of Amphetamine Sensitivity Using A Drosophila Behavioral Model. Rockville, MD, USA; 01/01/2019.

  • Karam CS, Williams B, Neureiter E, Moarkech C, Sadowska K, Boutin A, Javitch JA. The Neurobiology of Drosophila Conference. Poster presented: Delineating The Genetic Basis of Amphetamine Sensitivity Using A Drosophila Behavioral Model.. Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA; 10/02/2019.

  • Khauli N, Rodgers I, Ingrassia J, Sadowska K, Pike KM. The NIH Global Mental Health Research without Borders Conference. Poster presented: Understanding the Role of Clinician Attitudes and Prescribing Practices in Contributing to the Mental Health Treatment Gap Globally. Bethesda, MD, USA; 04/08/2019.

  • Sadowska K, Fong T, Horning DR, McAteer S, Ekwebelem MI, Demetres M, Reid MC, Shalev D. 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society . Poster presented: The Impact of Psychiatric Comorbidities on Outcomes in Palliative and End-of-Life Care: A Systematic Review. Long Beach, CA, USA; 05/05/2023.

  • Sadowska K, Jordan A, Shalev D. 2024 American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium. Poster presented: Opioid Prescribing and Risk in Older Adults with Serious Illness: A Nationwide Clinician Survey. Naples, FL, USA; 11/14/2024.

  • Sadowska K, Turnwald M, O’Neil T, Maust D, Gerlach L. The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry 2024 Annual Meeting. Poster presented: Behavioral Symptoms and Treatment Challenges for Patients Living with Dementia: Hospice Clinician and Caregiver Perspectives . Atlanta, GA, USA; 03/16/2024.

Oral Presentations

  • Sadowska K, Fong T, Horning DR, McAteer S, Ekwebelem MI, Demetres M, Reid MC, Shalev D. The Impact of Psychiatric Comorbidities on Outcomes in Palliative and End-of-Life Care: A Systematic Review. Oral presentation: The Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care; 03/24/2023. Montreal, QC, Canada.
     
  • Shalev D, Ekwebelem MI, Brody L, Alvarez Morales DI, Sadowska K, Bhatia S, Riffin C, Reid MC. Providing High-Quality Palliative Care to Individuals with Serious Mental Illness: A Multisite Qualitative Study of Clinician Perspectives . Oral presentation: The Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry 2024 Annual Meeting; 11/06/2024. Miami, FL, USA.
     
  • Patillo M, Guthrie JC, Ekwebelem MI, Sadowska K, Shalev D. 2025 Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care. Patient and Caregiver Perspectives on Palliative Care-Mental Health Integration. Denver, Colorado, USA; 02/07/2025.