Yasmin Carter Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Translational Anatomy at the University of Massachusetts Medical School; and Founding Director of the Innovations Lab @UMMS.  Dr. Carter completed her Ph.D. at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, her Master's at the University of Manitoba, Canada, and her undergraduate studies at the University of Bristol, England. She undertook a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Medical Imaging at the Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon, Canada.

Dr. Carter serves as a core anatomy faculty member in both the lab and lecture hall in the Development, Structure, and Function (DSF) course for first-year medical students.  Her interests focus on using anatomy as a keystone for teaching transgender healthcare content and best practices to medical students and professionals and is a frequent guest speaker on the topic. With a mission to advance health equity for gender minorities, Dr. Carter created a module introducing the basic concepts of sex and gender into anatomical curriculums which was implemented here at UMMS and shared internationally. Dr. Carter has set a trajectory that has an influence on education and direct outcomes for patient care.

Her research includes projects on the incorporation of LGBTQ+ competencies into the undergraduate medical education and the creation of educational materials for allied health professionals in the anatomy of post-surgical gender affirmation interventions.

Dr. Carter also runs the Translational Anatomy Innovations Lab @UMMS, a ‘maker-space’ dedicated to creative and out-of-the-box thinking in medical education. The lab focuses on using innovative and interactive instructional strategies and techniques to improve student engagement and learning outcomes that align with their professional goals. Through the use of virtual and augmented reality models, the goal is to teach anatomy in 4-dimensions more representative of live anatomy making it increasingly applicable to patients. An initiative focused on the creation of an anatomically accurate model of the deltoid for pediatric injection training was awarded a Remillard Family Community Service Fund in 2019. Many projects in the lab focus on the creation and assessment of 3D models - both virtual and physical for anatomical learning. Capstone student projects in the lab include 3D Modeling of Female Pelvis with Hillary Mullan ‘SOM20, winner of the 2019 Massachusetts Medical Society’s 18th annual Information Technology in Medicine Award.

In addition to her full-time appointment at UMMS, Dr. Carter is an adjunct faculty at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) School of Optometry and is an anatomical consultant and course author for the Apple Design Award winning app “Complete Anatomy” by 3D4medical. Dr. Carter writes and conducts research in the fields of bone biology and human osteology.

In addition to many service contributions at UMMS, Dr. Carter is also involved on the national level with multiple professional organizations including roles as:  

The American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA) - 2020 - 2021 Annual Meeting Co-Chair and Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.  Member of the American College of Radiologists (ACR) Work Group on Gender Diversity. Member of the Elsevier Advisory Board on 3D Anatomy. 

Find her on twitter at @DrYasminCarter