biology

Sandra K. Masur

Sandra K. Masur is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sandra K. Masur rather than just read about it. In short: Sandra Kazahn Masur is an American cell biologist and activist for women in academia. Masur is a professor of Ophthalmology as well as Pharmacological Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) in New York City.

Key takeaways

Sandra K. Masur belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sandra K. Masur to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sandra K. Masur from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sandra Kazahn Masur is an American cell biologist and activist for women in academia. Masur is a professor of Ophthalmology as well as Pharmacological Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) in New York City. Her research focused on membrane transport and wound healing. As a leader in promoting gender equity in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM), Masur is the founding Director of the Office for Women's Careers at ISMMS, the Chair of the Committee on Special Awards, and Title IX Coordinator. In recognition of her commitment to developing programs that mentor all scientists, the American Society for Cell Biology named the Senior Leadership Award of the Women in Cell Biology, the Sandra K. Masur Award in her honor.

Life and education Masur was born in The Bronx, New York City. Her parents were Polish Jewish immigrants who pushed Masur's academic ambitions. She majored in art at the High School of Music and Art in NYC, and chose a career in science after majoring in Biology and Aesthetics at City College of New York (CCNY), where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1960. To this day, Masur feels that for her, "art and science have always been intertwined" and that her artistic background influences her scientific acumen. Masur established the first electron microscopy facility at CCNY when she returned as an Assistant Professor after earning a Masters in Zoology in 1963, followed by a PhD in Cell Biology in 1967 both from Columbia University. She began her research as an undergrad in the laboratory of William Etkin and was mentored at Columbia by Lee Peachy in electron microscopy which she combined with cellular endocrinology to demonstrate hypothalamic inhibition of prolactin secretion. She studied cytochemistry as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Eric Holtzman at Columbia University. Masur has two sons and two step-daughters.

Career and research To juggle parenting and research, Masur moved to the new Medical School at Mount Sinai as an Instructor (part-time) in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics in 1968. where the chairman also provided her with a full-time research assistant. Masur continued as a research associate at Columbia University completing her post-doctoral training in cytochemistry. In collaboration with Eric Holtzman she hypothesized that organelle membrane insertion and removal from the cell surface was the basis for hormone induced alteration in cell membrane permeability. Interest in cell-matrix interaction led her to the cornea where she studied the roles of the extracellular matrix, cell-cell interactions and soluble factors in the wound healing process using a corneal stroma model. Masur's laboratory was funded for 35 years by the National Institutes of Health to explore the hormonal control of membrane transport as well as the cellular mechanisms of wound healing. Her lab determined that myofibroblasts and fibroblasts in the cornea are not "terminally differentiated".

Advancing women in academia Masur aims to advance and increase the visibility of women in STEMM. She uses her voice to create opportunities for women in science and fights for more equitable academic space. During her tenure at Mount Sinai, Masur was the first Dean of Faculty Developmencreating mentorship opportunities for women and men . She is a member of the Office of Gender Equity as Director of the Office for Women's Careers, which evolved from the Women Faculty Group at Mount Sinai (established in 1986). As the Director of the Office of Women's Careers, she advocates for women at ISMMS. Targeted programs and monthly events are hosted for women to discuss juggling career with family and to provides them with mentorship and leadership opportunities. Masur has published works describing the development of Women in Cell Biology (WICB) as well as anticipations of the future of women in STEMM. Masur held leadership roles including Chair of Diversity Issues Committee on Women and Minorities for the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology from 1997 to 1999, co-director of the National Eye Institute's "Fundamental Issues in Vision Research" at the Marine Biological Laboratory from 2001 to 2010, and Chair of Women in Cell Biology for the American Society of Cell Biology from 2010 to 2016. In 2015 the American Society for Cell Biology honored Masur by naming one of their leadership awards the "Sandra K. Masur Senior Leadership Award" for efforts in scientific leadership and her long history of creating opportunities for women. The award recognizes late career stage faculty with outstanding scientific achievement and a strong history of leadership in mentoring the careers of men and women in science. This award emphasizes leadership and support of marginalized groups.

Awards and honors 2023- Women's Empowerment Influencer Award Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 2017 – Elected Fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology 2015 – Senior Leadership Award of the Women in Cell Biology of the American Society for Cell Biology, named the Sandra K. Masur Leadership Award 2008 – Jacobi Medallion, Mount Sinai Alumni Association 2007 – Rosalind Franklin Society Invited Member of Founding Board 2001 Women in Medicine Silver Achievement Award, Association of American Medical Colleges 1997 Outstanding Woman Scientist – Association for Women in Science, Metropolitan New York Chapter 1997 Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award 1996 Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award 1978 Brotherhood Education Award, Conference of Christians and Jews

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sandra K. Masur

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sandra K. Masur claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sandra K. Masur before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sandra K. Masur ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sandra K. Masur

In research: Sandra K. Masur appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sandra K. Masur in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sandra K. Masur is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 20th-century American women biologists, 20th-century American zoologists, 21st-century American zoologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sandra K. Masur outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sandra K. Masur in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sandra K. Masur means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sandra K. Masur out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sandra K. Masur in simple terms?

Why does Sandra K. Masur matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sandra K. Masur?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sandra K. Masur.