[4] Heald grew up in Greenville, Pennsylvania,[5] and graduated from Hamilton College in upstate New York.

[6] She was a postdoctoral researcher with Eric Karsenti at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany.

[5] She joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley in 1997, and has held the Flora Lamson Hewlett Chair of Biochemistry since 2011.

[11] She identified a biochemical modification of the nuclear transport receptor importin α as a sensor that scales intracellular structures to cell size.

[12] Heald has written about the challenges of starting a lab as a new Assistant Professor, and the benefits of collaborating with her neighbors Matt Welch and Karsten Weis to create a nurturing scientific and educational environment.