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Research.com has named Sarah Spiegel, Ph.D., member of the Cancer Biology research program at VCU Massey Cancer Center and professor and chair of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department at the VCU School of Medicine, among the top female scientists both nationally and globally in 2022.

“Appearing on this list reflects not only high interest in these specific sub-fields but also of the high quality of our researchers’ work,” said P. Srirama Rao, Ph.D., vice president for Research and Innovation at VCU. “It is really a proud moment for VCU to know that our women scientists are nationally prominent, including being among the top 100. It’s also inspirational to the next generation of female scientists that they can achieve excellence and prominence at VCU.”

In the national ranking, Spiegel is the only scientist in the state to crack the top 100 at No. 96, with a global ranking of 148. She is recognized for her numerous, seminal contributions to understanding the biological functions of the lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate, “a molecule she originally discovered in the mid-1990s and has since been found to play important roles in cancer progression, inflammation and cardiovascular disease,” Rao said. “A colleague of hers says that she launched and sustained ‘an entire field of biochemistry.’”

In addition to her scientific achievements, Spiegel has a long record of leadership within the scientific community as department chair, graduate program director, cancer center program leader and mentor for 20 graduate students and 75 postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have gone on to distinguished research careers.

“I was pleased that this field that I helped develop is now receiving much attention,” Spiegel said. “I hope that promoting women in STEM will inspire young girls to pursue research careers and will address the underrepresentation of women in science.”

The first edition of Research.com’s ranking of top female scientists in the United States includes leading female scientists from all major areas of science. It was based on a meticulous examination of 166,880 scientists on Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic Graph.

Spiegel is “outstanding in her field and represents the kind of transdisciplinary, transformative research that we know can help change lives,” Rao said. 

Written by: Leila Ugincius