Dr. Sara Handley is the principal investigator of the COCOON (Culture Of Care Observed in Obstetrics and Neonatology) study. She is a neonatologist and health services researcher who is dedicated to improving the perinatal healthcare system and outcomes for the birth parent-infant dyad. She is excited to evaluate and advance the culture of dyad-centered care through the COCOON study.  

Sara’s work examines a variety of factors in the perinatal healthcare system, including structures of care (e.g., levels of maternal and neonatal care, the provision of risk-appropriate care, rural-urban differences), organizational culture (e.g., culture of dyad-centered care, culture of resuscitation teams, culture surrounding clinical research), and care processes (e.g., neonatal and infant resuscitation, umbilical cord management at birth). Sara is particularly interested in the interrelated health of the infant and birth parent and the impact of concordance or discordance in health system factors between obstetric and neonatal care on outcomes. This work is done in collaboration with colleagues in neonatology, obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine, biostatistics, healthcare management, and organizational psychology. Her work, including in the COCOON study, is supported by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.  

Sara received her Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School. She was a pediatric resident at the University of California San Francisco, where she participated in the Clinical and Translational Research Pathway. While a neonatology fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia she was supported by a training grant from the National Institute of Health and received her Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania.  

Outside of work, Sara enjoys cooking, biking, and hiking. She lives with her husband, two children, and cat in Swarthmore, PA. 

Sara C. Handley, MD, MSCE 

Dr. Cecelia Corson is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia/University of Pennsylvania, where she contributes to research investigating the impact of culture on patient outcomes in the perinatal space. She holds a PhD in positive organizational psychology from Claremont Graduate University, her MBA from the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego, and her Master of Global Business Leadership from the University of San Diego. 

Cecelia focuses her research endeavors on improving the lives of women.  Her contributions to research in the perinatal space at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia center around her expertise in organizational culture and organizational psychology.  Her PhD research centered around women’s experiences of belonging in STEM spaces, on understanding the gender disparity in STEM fields, entrepreneurship, and leadership, and on implementing positive organizational scholarship interventions such as job crafting and appreciative inquiry.  She has a lifelong passion for understanding how women can feel a deep sense of meaning and belonging, and where they can thrive professionally and personally.   

Cecelia is an experienced facilitator and educator and has taught multiple courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including Organizational Behavior, Business Professional Development, Organizational Theory, Leadership Development, and multiple workshops in the organizational setting. Cecelia is also an executive leadership coach with a focus on positive psychology, organizational behavior, leadership development, organizational culture, organizational change, employee and leader wellbeing, emotion regulation, and more.   

As a former competitive swimmer, marathoner, and triathlete, Cecelia takes advantage of the California sun with regular outdoor nature workouts.  She lives in Cardiff, CA with her husband, her daughter, and their three dogs – Archie, Dolce, and Winston. 

Cecelia Corson, PhD, MS, MBA