Yasmin Carter Ph.D. serves as an Associate Professor of Translational Anatomy within the Department of Radiology at UMASS Chan Medical School. Additionally, she holds a secondary appointment within the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing. Dr. Carter assumes pivotal roles as the Director of Impact and Scholarship for the DRIVE initiative, Director of Vista Longitudinal Focus Topics (LFT) Integration, and currently serves as the interim Director of Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (HEDI) LFT.
Dr. Carter's professional journey is marked by a spectrum of interdisciplinary experience. Her tenure as a core faculty member in Human Anatomy at UMass Chan Medical School commenced in 2015. Prior to this, she held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatchewan, Canada, with a focus on clinical imaging instruction. Her educational journey encompasses a Ph.D. in high-resolution imaging of bone from the Canadian Light Source (CLS) Synchrotron in Saskatoon, Canada, a master's degree in biological anthropology from Manitoba, Canada, and a bachelor's degree with first-class honors in human anthropology from Bristol, UK.
Dr. Carter's responsibilities are multifaceted and encompass three overarching domains:
Gross Anatomy: Dr. Carter plays a pivotal role as a core anatomy faculty member, delivering instruction to medical students at the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. She is dedicated to advancing health equity for gender and sexual minorities and is credited with introducing a pioneering module that integrates fundamental concepts of sex and gender into the anatomical curriculum. This innovative approach, developed by Dr. Carter, has not only been implemented at UMass Chan but has also gained international recognition. Furthermore, her development of the "female first" model of anatomical education has been incorporated into medical education texts.
DRIVE: Dr. Carter is responsible for the creation of training programs and resources that support faculty development as part of the three-school initiative involving the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Nursing, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and Graduate Medical Education. Her efforts are geared towards fostering a more diverse learning environment.
LFT Integration: As part of the Vista Curriculum Revolution, Dr. Carter leads a dedicated team aimed at ensuring the appropriate and consistent integration of subjects historically underrepresented in medical education, particularly pertaining to Health System Science, Societal Forces in Health & Disease, and Health Equity. These initiatives are woven longitudinally throughout the preclinical and clinical years.
Dr. Carter's professional pursuits extend to leadership development and skill enhancement. Notably, she is a 2023 American Medical Association Health System Science Scholar and has earned white and yellow LEAN belts. Her current focus lies in her Green Belt Project. She takes the lead in driving educational initiatives for students, faculty, and clinicians at all stages of their careers, which includes the Junior Faculty Development Program and the New England Teachers of Tomorrow course. Her mentorship has proved highly impactful, with her mentees securing grants and awards, including the Massachusetts Medical Society Technology Award in 2019. In recognition of her educational contributions, Dr. Carter was honored with a 2021 STAR teaching award and received a Dean's Commendation letter in 2022 based on exceptional student feedback regarding her educational experiences.
Dr. Carter's scientific background has equipped her with a metric-driven approach to evaluating the impact of curricular updates and faculty development. This approach includes the development of AI-natural language processing analyses to uncover concealed patterns in learner and faculty needs. Her research endeavors span the fields of bone biology and human osteology.
In addition to her academic roles, Dr. Carter engages in private consulting work with various industries, including fashion, sports, and outdoor gear manufacturers. She is a sought-after speaker and has delivered numerous keynote speeches and webinars, emphasizing the importance of cultivating an inclusive educational culture to enhance learner success. Dr. Carter also contributes her expertise as a sex and gender consultant for textbooks published by Wolters Kluwer and serves as a subject matter expert in anatomy and diversity for the Apple Design Award-winning app "Complete Anatomy."