Dr. Sandell received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and her doctorate in Neuroscience from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She completed postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts General Hospital and joined the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology in 1991. Dr. Sandell maintains a research lab in which she studies anatomical remodeling in human retinas from patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), as part of a large group based in Boston that is developing a retinal implant to restore visual function in patients with RP. She also studies the structural changes in the brain in aging Rhesus monkeys, as part of a group investigating the neural basis of age-related cognitive impairment. Her research is funded by the Veteran's Administration, and by the NIH.

Dr. Sandell currently teaches in Medical Neurosciences, Systems Neuroscience, Dental Histology, and directs a course on ethics and professional skills for graduate students. She is the 2001 recipient of the Stanley L. Robbins Award for Excellence in Teaching at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Sandell is also a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners Neurology/Neuroscience Task Force for the United States Medical Liscensing Examination (USMLE).

Some of Dr. Sandell's current service commitments include chairmanship of the Boston University Faculty Council, membership on the Boston University Board of Trustees, membership on the Medical School Admissions Committee, and service as an advisor in the BUSM Division of Graduate Medical Sciences Master's in Medical Science program. Since 2004 Dr. Sandell has been the Vice-Chairman of the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, and she currently serves as the chairman of the departmental Faculty Appointment, Promotion and Development Committee.

For a complete list of professional experience, funding, publications and service, see CV.