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Basmah Safdar, MD, FACEP

Norma Weinberg Spungen and Joan Lebson Bildner Professor of Women's Health Research
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Additional Titles

Director, Women's Health Research at Yale, Yale School of Medicine

Co-Chair, Chest Pain Center

Safdar Lab

The Safdar Lab focuses on conducting sex and gender-specific research in microvascular health, focusing on the heart, brain, and COVID-19.
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About

Titles

Norma Weinberg Spungen and Joan Lebson Bildner Professor of Women's Health Research

Director, Women's Health Research at Yale, Yale School of Medicine; Co-Chair, Chest Pain Center

Biography

Basmah Safdar, MD, is an emergency medicine physician and internationally recognized scholar in sex-specific research with a focus on microvascular health – in the heart, brain, and COVID-19. In July 2025, Safdar became Director of Women’s Health Research at Yale, the university’s interdisciplinary research center committed to improve the health and well-being of everyone by studying the health of women and examining health differences between and among women and men.

Funded by a diverse grant portfolio including the NIH, CDC, foundations, and investigator-initiated industry awards, Safdar has successfully conducted numerous clinical trials and translational research in emergency settings. The Safdar Lab leads the Yale CMD Registry (examining coronary microvascular dysfunction), committed to patient monitoring through an integrated, multidisciplinary clinical approach.

In her capacity as the Medical Director of the Chest Pain Center at Yale New Haven Hospital, Safdar adeptly combines a data driven approach with extensive operational and content expertise to drive clinical program advancement, programmatic efficiencies, and champions the implementation of value-based chest pain care through the health care delivery continuum. Previously, she led the Women’s Heart Program at Yale New Haven Hospital from 2009 to 2013. In 2014, she co-chaired the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference, which formalized sex as a critical variable in emergency medicine research.

Safdar applies a systems lens merging her academic expertise with a servant leadership ethos to foster consensus and establish standardized efficient practices in her operational and administrative responsibilities. She is deeply committed to cultivating equitable and transparent platforms for both patients and physicians. Nationally, she completed a 3-year term as President of the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM) and used this platform to coordinate faculty development resources for early and mid-career women faculty in the field. She remains committed to teaching and provides mentorship to Yale undergraduates, medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty.

In recognition of her service and exceptional leadership, Safdar was sponsored by the Yale School of Medicine Dean to participate in the 2023-2024 Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) Program. This prestigious initiative is dedicated to cultivating a diverse cohort of accomplished women leaders poised to make significant contributions to academic medicine's leadership landscape.

Last Updated on December 12, 2025.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

MSc
Harvard University, Cardiovascular Epidemiology (2013)
Resident
Yale-New Haven Hospital (2004)
Chief Resident
Yale New Haven Hospital (2004)
MD
Aga Khan University (1999)

Research

Overview

Dr. Safdar has been following the sex-specific signals of microvascular dysfunction for the past two decades. Her original work on physiological reactivity testing in chest pain patients helped uncover a signal for microvascular dysfunction in low-moderate risk ED chest pain patients. This discovery led to the use of cardiac PET/CT in describing a clinical phenotype of coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) in ED patient. Her team has described the clinical profile of these patients from ED settings, identified a potential biomarker with a prognostic role in these patients as well as described other determinants such as electrocardiographic signatures and short-term outcomes for these patients. Yale is pleased to be one of the few EDs in the country to routinely evaluate chest pain patients for CMD. Dr. Safdar leads the Yale CMD biorepository that prospectively enrolls patients with CMD along with a biorepository including genetic samples for future testing. The next direction of her work is to assess the role of sex and endothelial dysfunction in precision based personalized medicine.


Medical Research Interests

Cardiovascular Diseases; Cerebral Small Vessel Diseases; Chest Pain; Clinical Trial; COVID-19; Emergency Medicine; Exercise Therapy; Healthcare Disparities; Leadership; Microvascular Angina; Translational Research, Biomedical; Women's Health

Public Health Interests

Women's Health

  • ORCID

    0000-0002-9640-7133
  • Lab Whisk Cup Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

    Safdar Lab

    The Safdar Lab focuses on conducting sex and gender-specific research in microvascular health, focusing on the heart, brain, and COVID-19.

    View Lab Website

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Basmah Safdar's published research.

Publications

Featured Publications

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Clinical Trials

Current Trials

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

Honors

  • honor

    The Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM®) program

    04/18/2024National AwardDrexel University
  • honor

    Women Executive Leaderhip Program

    03/27/2022National AwardImpact Center
  • honor

    AWAEM Midcareer Award

    05/31/2020National AwardSociety of Academic Emergency Medicine
  • honor

    Momentum Leadership Award

    01/01/2014National AwardAcademy for Women in Emergency Medicine
  • honor

    Best Clinical Science Research Award, Resident Category

    01/01/2005National AwardSociety of Academic Emergency Medicine

Clinical Care

Overview

Basmah Safdar, MD, specializes in emergency medicine with a focus on microvascular health, particularly in the heart and brain, and its relation to COVID-19.

Dr. Safdar has expertise in coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), a type of heart disease that affects small blood vessels that regulate blood flow to heart tissue. She leads the Yale CMD Registry and is the medical director of the Chest Pain Center at Yale New Haven Hospital, where she works to improve how chest pain is treated, using data-driven approaches to enhance patient care.

“I pride myself on having the ability to find a needle in a haystack, all the while maintaining the ability to see and care for the patient as a whole,” Dr. Safdar says. “Emergency medicine is a team sport. It’s a dynamic environment that requires the ability to work with a diverse team of healthcare professionals. Collaboration is necessary to provide high-quality care to every patient.”

A professor of emergency medicine at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Safdar's research explores how differences in vascular biology between men and women affect health, particularly focusing on microvascular dysfunction—a condition where small blood vessels don't function properly, reducing blood flow and causing symptoms like chest pain.

Her work has led to advancements in understanding chest pain in emergency settings and the identification of clinical phenotypes and biomarkers that may predict outcomes. She leads a large research team and has built a significant portfolio from federal, foundation, and industry grants, extending her research into precision medicine.

In her role as Vice Chair at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Safdar brings 25 years of expertise in faculty development and communication strategies within medical and academic settings. She focuses on developing early and mid-career faculty through tailored curricula designed to equip healthcare professionals with essential skills for navigating complex clinical environments and promoting patient-centered care through effective collaboration and time management.

She earned her medical degree from Aga Khan University in Pakistan, completed residency and chief residency in emergency medicine at Yale School of Medicine, and holds a master of science in cardiovascular epidemiology from Harvard University. She is a 2024 Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Fellow, a testament to her vision, skills, and dedication.

Clinical Specialties

Emergency Medicine

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