Sandra obtained her BA from Hiram College, a leading private school in the United States known for research excellence. She then spent five years in industry and government as an analytical chemist before pursing an MSc and Ph.D. in applied toxicology and biotechnology at North Carolina State University. After obtaining her Ph.D., Sandra trained as a postdoctoral fellow for five years at the National Institutes of Health in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. The focus of her research over the past 28 years has been the identification of novel methods of diagnosing and treating breast cancer. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. In addition, she impacted the future of breast cancer research through grant reviews via the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program and the Susan Komen Foundation.

Throughout her career Sandra has published more than >200 peer-reviewed abstracts, manuscripts and books, the majority of which center on the identification and validation of novel strategies for the treatment of solid tumors. Her publications have been sited >5300 times internationally. After spending 10 years in academia, she started a consulting firm to serve as an drug development expert to biotechnology companies in the US and Canada. In 2012, she followed her passion for helping women with breast cancer by starting Phoenix Molecular Designs. PhoenixMD is a semi-virtual drug company that was built by bringing in the best and the brightest. They have Big Pharma experience from industry giants such as Genentech, Novartis and Pfizer. Their company has been award winning. Examples include the winner of the Coast-Coast Pitch Competition at BIO 2016, and nominated as Best New Company 2016. They have been featured on Global TV, the San Diego Tribune, Roundhouse radio and the Huffington Post. Over the past six years, her company has raised over $6M dollars, obtained several patents and they have developed a novel drug for breast cancer. They plan to take their drug, PMD-026 into clinical trials next year.