Sara Kintzle, research professor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, has been appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Assessment of Department of Veterans Affairs Physical and Mental Health Examinations and the Department’s Schedule of Rating Disabilities for Disability Compensation Claims Related to Military Sexual Trauma. The committee will undertake a congressionally mandated comprehensive review of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) protocols for examination of individuals who submit claims for mental and physical conditions linked to military sexual trauma (MST), and the training and credentials of those performing the examinations. The committee held its first meeting on January 29, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

Comprised of 12 researchers and academics from prestigious universities and think tanks across the country, the work of this committee could have a profound impact on more than tens of thousands of service members who report MST each year, as well as those that go unreported. In 2021, an estimated 35,900 active duty service members, both men and women, reported unwanted sexual conduct, up 25% from 2018. The U.S. Congress has charged the committee with assessing the examinations given by the VA to determine compensation for mental and physical conditions linked to military sexual trauma. 

Kintzle has earned a reputation as an emerging national and international leader on issues related to military service. She is the principal investigator of The State of the American Veteran: The Southern California Veterans Study, the first comprehensive needs assessment across Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties, including a focus on issues particular to women veterans.  Her research focus provides insight into the experience of service members and veterans regarding risk and protective factors related to successful military transition, challenges to psychological and physical health, risk for suicide, sexual harassment, stalking and sexual assault. 

Dedicated to translating scientific findings into program and policy recommendations, in 2024 Kintzle was invited to meet with Congressional and Department of Defense staff on how the results from the Southern California Veterans Study might impact future policy. In 2021, she presented to President Biden's Department of Defense Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military. In 2017, she represented the United States on an expert panel for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) addressing sexual violence in the military.