Sarah England, Ph.D.

Sarah K. England, Ph.D is the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Medicine and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University. She was previously on faculty at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Gynecology. She is a graduate of Carleton College and obtained her doctorate in Physiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She completed her post-doctoral training at Vanderbilt University in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. In 1997, Dr. England moved to the University of Iowa as an Assistant Professor and began studying the molecular mechanisms underlying uterine function during pregnancy. She joined the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine in July 2011. Her laboratory has three main lines of investigation: One focus is to determine how ion channels in the myometrium modulate uterine excitability and contractility during pregnancy. Second, they are investigating functional consequences of genetic variants in the oxytocin receptor. Lastly, they are studying how disruptions in endogenous circadian rhythms affect pregnancy outcomes. Her laboratory has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, the March of Dimes, and other federal agencies. Dr. England has authored many research and review articles and has reviewed for multiple journals in both basic science and clinical fields. Dr. England has served on review committees for multiple funding agencies including the NIH, March of Dimes, American Heart Association, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. England was active in multiple educational initiatives at the University of Iowa including directing the Iowa Biosciences Advantage program, an NIH funded Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity program, which serves to increase the number of underrepresented minority undergraduates pursuing doctorate degrees in the biomedical sciences. She also served as co-investigator of the Minority Health International Research Training grant, which funds students to study health disparities in developing countries. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and worked in the office of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for one year working on policies related to maternal child health issues, women’s health, the healthcare workforce, and health disparities. In addition to running her translational research lab, she serves as the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University and directs the Center for Reproductive Health Sciences. She was elected into the National Academy of Medicine in 2024.