Basmah Safdar

Basmah Safdar, MD, is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, where she also serves as Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs and Development, Director of Women’s Health Research at Yale (WHRY), and Medical Director of the Chest Pain Center at Yale New Haven Hospital. She leads the Yale CMD Registry and Biorepository, focusing on sex and gender-specific research in microvascular health.

• Norma Weinberg Spungen and Joan L. Bildner Professor of Emergency Medicine
• Director, Women's Health Research at Yale
• Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs and Development, Emergency Medicine
• Medical Director, Chest Pain Center

Dr. Safdar earned her MD from Aga Khan University, completed residency and chief residency at Yale New Haven Hospital, and holds an MSc in Cardiovascular Epidemiology from Harvard University. She is a 2024 Fellow of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program.

Her research centers on microvascular dysfunction in the heart, brain, and its implications in conditions like chest pain and COVID-19. She investigates sex-specific differences in cardiovascular disease, aiming to improve diagnosis, reduce healthcare disparities, and develop precision medicine approaches. Her work spans clinical trials, translational research, and biomarker discovery, with a strong emphasis on emergency medicine settings.

Her recent publications highlight trends in identifying novel biomarkers (e.g., renalase), understanding systemic microvascular disease, addressing gender and race bias in healthcare, and advancing clinical diagnostics for coronary microvascular dysfunction. Her research integrates machine learning, epidemiology, and clinical cardiology to improve patient outcomes.

• Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM®) Program (2024)
• Women Executive Leadership Program, Impact Center (2022)
• AWAEM Midcareer Award, Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (2020)
• Momentum Leadership Award, Academy for Women in Emergency Medicine (2014)
• Best Clinical Science Research Award, Resident Category (2005)

Dr. Safdar is deeply committed to mentorship and faculty development. She mentors medical students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty and led the national organization AWAEM as President. She has secured grants from the NIH, CDC, and foundations to support her research and leadership programs. She champions equitable clinical and academic systems, advocating for transparent advancement and compensation practices in emergency medicine.

She leads the Safdar Lab, which conducts interdisciplinary research on sex and gender-specific microvascular health, collaborating with experts in cardiology, neurology, epidemiology, and biomedical data science. The lab leverages clinical data, biorepositories, and advanced analytics to drive innovation in women’s health and emergency care.