Myra Sabir

Assistant Professor

Office: University Downtown Center, Room 411
Office Phone:  (607) 777-9251
Fax: (607) 777-7587
E-mail: msabir@binghamton.edu

Dr. Myra Sabir (Assistant Professor of Human Development) received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University in 2004. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIH), at the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging (CITRA), after which she served for four years as an Assistant Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University.  Within the area of Adult Development and Aging, Dr. Sabir's research focuses on thriving among those labeled the 'young old' (mid 50s to mid 70s) in African American communities. Along with colleagues in the Department of Human Development and in the Department of Social Work, she has initiated the Community Generativity Institute (CGI), within the Institute for Intergenerational Studies' Southern Tier Center on Aging.  CGI is an intervention research institute that measures the impact of integrative reminiscence and expressive writing on physical and psychological health, and on community generativity.  The CGI will use evaluation, fidelity, and community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods to establish a state of the art training program for community members interested in applying their generative potential to the well-being of their own local neighborhoods.   Dr. Sabir's research is published in first tier journals (e.g., Journal of Applied Gerontology, The Gerontologist, The American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias) and has been accepted for presentation at national conferences  such as the Annual Gerontological Society of America Convention, and the National Association of African American Studies.

 Educational Background

• Ph.D. Human Development, Cornell University
• M.T.S.  Theology and Human Development, Emory University
• B.A. Philosophy, Georgia State University

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

• Cornell University, Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging

Teaching Profession

Courses Regularly Taught

• Social Justice
• Narrative Psychology
• Adult Development and Aging
• Introduction to Human Development

Current & Ongoing Research Interests

• Integrative reminiscence/expressive writing
• Generativity in midlife an older age
• Human Bonding & Attachment Repair
• Applied intervention research
• Community-Based Participatory Research
• Evaluation & Fidelity Research relevant to the Community Generativity Institute

Selected Publications

• Sabir, M. (2013). Refine and Focus:Why the Integrative Knowledge Portfolio Process & the Generative Knowledge Interview Might Successfully Distill the Career Orientation for College Students.  The Journal of College Student Development (under review).
• Sabir, M.,Wethington, E., Pillemer, K., Breckman, R., Meador, R. (2009). A Community-Based Participatory Critique of Social Isolation Intervention Research for Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 28, 218-234.
• Sabir, M., Breckman, R.,Meador, R., Wethington, E., Reid, M., Pillemer, K. (2006). The CITRA Research-Practice Consensus Workshop Model: Exploring a New Method of Research Translation in Aging.  The Gerontologist, 46, 833-839.
• Sabir, M., Pillemer, K., Suitor, J. & Patterson, M. (2003).  Predictors of Successful Relationships in a Peer Support Program for Alzheimer's Caregivers.  American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, 18, 115-122.
• Wethington, E., Breckman, R., Meador, R., Reid, C., Sabir, M., Lachs, M., Pillemer, K. (2007).  The Citra Pilot Studies Program: Mentoring Translational Research.  Gerontologist, 47, 845-850.
• Pillemer, K., Suitor, J., Mock, S., Sabir, M., Sechrist, J. (2007).  Capturing the Complexity of Intergenerational Relations:  Exploring Ambivalence within Later-Life Families.  Journal of Social Issues, 63, 775-791.
• Chen, C., Sabir, M.,  Zimmerman, S., Pillemer, K., & Suitor, J. (2007).  The importance of family relationships with nursing facility staff for family caregiver burden and depression. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences,62, 253-260.