The Well Panel

About

Dr. Sarah Chen is the scientific backbone of The Well Panel. She spent six years as a research scientist at the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University before joining as our Lead Nutritional Scientist in 2022. Her doctoral work at Cornell focused on bioavailability of mineral chelates — which is why she is particularly unforgiving of supplement brands that use cheap oxide forms of magnesium, zinc, and iron while charging premium prices.

She is the primary architect of our Ingredient Quality & Safety pillar and the lead author of our proprietary ingredient rubric, which is updated twice annually to reflect new literature. Every supplement review published on The Well Panel passes through her ingredient audit before going live.

Her research has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Nutrients, and the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She consults for two hospital systems on clinical nutrition protocols and maintains an active private practice in New York City focused on performance nutrition and gut health.

Outside of The Well Panel, she is a competitive masters swimmer and has been self-experimenting with nutrition protocols for athletic performance for over a decade — which means she has personal skin in the game on nearly every supplement category she reviews.

Testing Philosophy

"I start with the label and work backward. If the dose isn't right, nothing else matters. I've seen brands spend millions on marketing a product that has 20% of the clinically studied dose of the active ingredient. That's not a supplement — it's an expensive placebo. My job is to catch that before our readers spend their money."

Education

2016

PhD, Nutritional Biochemistry

Cornell University

2013

MS, Nutrition Science

Tufts University

2011

BS, Biochemistry

UC San Diego

Certifications

Registered Dietitian (RD), Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics