Sarah L.J. Michel, PhD
Titles
Dean of School of Pharmacy
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Co-Director, Metallotherapeutics Research C
School Affiliation
School of Pharmacy
Specialties
Metallotherapeutics
About
Phone: 410-706-7038
Email: smichel@rx.umaryland.edu
Sarah L.J. Michel, PhD, is a distinguished educator and researcher who joined the School of Pharmacy faculty in 2004. She is a former chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (PSC) and associate dean for graduate studies. Michel is an internationally recognized leader in the field of metals in medicine. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and U.S. Army Research labs for investigating the roles that metals play in the regulation of chronic inflammation, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. She has also been active in clinical research through U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants and has been closely involved with the Maryland Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (M-CERSI). Notably, an FDA clinical trial headed by Michel led the FDA to issue new guidance on how generic nanomedicines should be evaluated for approval. In addition, she is part of a PSC and University of Maryland School of Dentistry team of researchers funded by the FDA that is investigating the safety of electronic cigarettes. In her 19 years at UMSOP, Michel has been intricately involved in all of its educational aspects, including PhD and MS programs, as well as the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program, where she re-designed the core biochemistry course to emphasize clinical applications to pharmacy and led the development of the PharmD research pathway. She has mentored dozens of PhD and PharmD students and has a keen understanding of the pharmacy profession, as well as the many roles and career opportunities for today’s School of Pharmacy students. Early in her career at the School of Pharmacy, Michel developed “Spring into Maryland Science” with funding from the NSF to provide research experiences to students from groups underrepresented in science. As director of the School’s PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences program, she was instrumental in partnering with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Meyerhoff Scholars program, which led to the successful application in 2022 of an NIH Initiative for Maximizing Student Development T32 grant to train students from groups underrepresented in health-related sciences. Michel served as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Faculty Senate from 2015 to 2017, where she worked with colleagues in the Staff Senate and Graduate Student Association, as well as UMB leadership, on the UMB Statement of Shared Governance. She also testified in the Maryland General Assembly on behalf of UMB faculty on legislation that led to the formation of the MPower collaboration with the University of Maryland, College Park. Michel earned a BA in chemistry from Cornell University in 1995 and a PhD in inorganic chemistry from Northwestern University in 2000. She completed a NRSA postdoctoral fellowship in biophysics and biophysical chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
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Tagged: Research and Innovation