Sara Elaine Brownell is an American biology education researcher who is a President's Professor at Arizona State University.
[citation needed] She joined Stanford University as a doctoral researcher, studying small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) as anti-inflammatory therapeutics.
[citation needed] After completing her doctorate, Brownell joined the faculty at Stanford as a lecturer in biology and developed inquiry-based lab courses.
[7] Brownell has investigated the origins of the gender gaps in science, with a specific focus on achievement and participation in biology.
[16][17][18] Together with PhD student Elizabeth Barnes, Brownell developed strategies to help educators reduce any conflicts between the teaching of evolution and holding of religious beliefs.