Associate Professor, Assistant Dean
Dalhousie University, Canada
I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Sarah Wells, PhD (Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering, Assistant Dean, Medical Sciences Program, Dalhousie University) is an expert in the properties of biopolymers such as collagen and elastin and in the roles these biopolymers play in physiological systems including the cardiovascular system. With a unique training in biophysics, materials- and biomedical engineering, she brings a holistic approach to understanding tissue structure and mechanical function to discovery research on cardiovascular physiology. Her research focuses on the adaptive remodeling of cardiovascular tissues during development and in pregnancy. Her recent work has shown—for the first time—remodeling of heart valve and aortic tissue in the maternal circulation that, interestingly, may not be reversible post-partum. Continuously funded by NSERC for 20 years, she has held ~$900k in operating grant funds as a PI and ~$1M as a co-applicant. She is Associate Editor for Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology (IF 2.271), an official journal of the Biomedical Engineering Society of which she is a member. Dr. Wells is also an award-winning teacher, developing and delivering courses in Physics, Engineering, Physiology, and Medical Sciences. Since 2016, she has served as Assistant Dean in the Faculty of Medicine, overseeing the Medical Sciences BSc Program. In this role, she oversaw the development and launch of their 3rd and 4th year curriculum and a pathway program initiative for Black and Indigenous students. This administrative role has been close to a full-time equivalent from 2016-2022, and for that reason, her research productivity has slowed substantially. Nonetheless, she has maintained her research lab over this time, training 3 graduate students and numerous undergraduate students from Faculties of Science and Engineering. She has published 17 peer-reviewed papers, 35 engineering conference papers (extended abstracts), 1 book chapter, and was an invited keynote speaker at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Biomedical Engineering Society.