Brian Sato
Acting Vice Provost, Office of Teaching and Learning
Associate Dean, Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation, UC Irvine
Biography
Brian Sato, Ph.D., is Associate Dean in the Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation at the University of California, Irvine and a Professor of Teaching in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. He also holds a joint appointment in the School of Education. An internationally recognized scholar in STEM education research, Dr. Sato has spent over a decade investigating undergraduate biology education, faculty development, and institutional change to promote equitable and inclusive teaching practices.
Dr. Sato is the founder and director of the Postsecondary Education Research and Implementation (PERI) Institute at UC Irvine and serves as the founding steering committee chair of the UC STEM Teaching Professor Network. He has organized the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research regional conference SABER West for nearly a decade and served as the UCI PI for the Sloan Equity and Inclusion in STEM Introductory Courses (SEISMIC) network since 2018. Dr. Sato's research has been funded by multiple organizations including the National Science Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and California Learning Lab, among others.
Dr. Sato received his Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of California San Diego, where he studied endoplasmic reticulum quality control mechanisms under Dr. Randolph Hampton. He completed postdoctoral training at UC San Diego with Dr. James Wilhelm, investigating the role of ubiquitination in mRNA stability. His current research focuses on evidence-based teaching practices, faculty hiring and development, and systemic approaches to improving undergraduate STEM education outcomes for diverse student populations.
Return to topEducation
- B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology, With Honors, University of California, Berkeley, 2003
- Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California San Diego, 2008
Areas of Expertise
- STEM Education Research
- Active Learning Implementation
- Undergraduate Biology Pedagogy
- Faculty Development Programs
- Assessment Methods Design
- Inclusive Teaching Practices
- Learning Analytics Applications
- Equity Gap Analysis
- Teaching Faculty Hiring
Recent Publications
- Arevalo E, Sato BK, Lo SM, Wilton M, “Equitable faculty hiring: development and implementation of teaching faculty hiring rubrics” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Education, vol. 10, 2025.
- Veronika Rozhenkova, Brian K. Sato, Natascha Trellinger Buswell, ““My Blood Is Boiling When I Think About Advising”: The Role of Academic Advising in STEM Student Retention” (opens in new tab), Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory and Practice, vol. 26, pp. 378-400, 2024.
- Eslami M, Denaro K, Collins P, Sumarsono JM, Dennin M, Sato BK, “How syllabi relate to outcomes in higher education: A study of syllabi learner-centeredness and grade inequities in STEM” (opens in new tab), PLOS ONE, vol. 19, 2024.
- Denaro K, Molinaro M, Fiorini S, Matz RL, Sato BK, “A Multi-institutional Cluster Analysis to Identify Groups of Courses with Exemplary Opportunity Gaps for Undergraduate Students in the Biological Sciences” (opens in new tab), CBE-Life Sciences Education, vol. 23, 2024.
- Nasalingkhan C, Sirinonthanawech N, Sato BK, Wilhelm JE, Noree C, “Localization and regulation of yeast aldehyde dehydrogenase Ald4p structures” (opens in new tab), Heliyon, vol. 10, 2024.
- Singhal S, Kram KE, Valliere JM, Wang F, Sato BK, “Integration of Inquiry-Based Experiences Department-Wide: An Example from Biology Curriculum”, Experiential Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 42-63, 2024.
- Park ES, Wilton M, Lo SM, Buswell N, Suarez NA, Sato BK, “STEM Faculty Instructional Beliefs Regarding Assessment, Grading, and Diversity are Linked to Racial Equity Grade Gaps” (opens in new tab), Research in Higher Education, vol. 65, pp. 871-892, 2023.
- Rozhenkova V, Snow L, Sato BK, Lo SM, Buswell NT, “Limited or complete? Teaching and learning conceptions and instructional environments fostered by STEM teaching versus research faculty” (opens in new tab), International Journal of STEM Education, vol. 10, no. 51, 2023.
- Zhou X, Li Q, Xu D, Holton A, Sato BK, “The promise of using study-together groups to promote engagement and performance in online courses” (opens in new tab), The Internet and Higher Education, vol. 59, 2023.
- Runnerstrom MG, Denaro K, Sato BK, “Bolstering the Public Health Workforce: Recruitment and Retention of Public Health Majors” (opens in new tab), Pedagogy in Health Promotion, vol. 9, pp. 124-130, 2023.
- King C, Denaro K, Sato BK, “Assessment of Demographic Biases Associated with the Ground Rules System in a Large Undergraduate Engineering Course” (opens in new tab), Journal of College Science Teaching, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 3-5, 2023.
- Harlow AN, Buswell NT, Lo SM, Sato BK, “Stakeholder perspectives on hiring teaching-focused faculty at research-intensive universities” (opens in new tab), International Journal of STEM Education, vol. 9, no. 54, 2022.
- Denaro K, Dennin K, Dennin M, Sato BK, “Identifying systemic inequity in higher education and opportunities for improvement” (opens in new tab), PLOS ONE, vol. 17, 2022.
- Denaro K, Kranzfelder P, Owens MT, Sato BK, Lo SM, “Predicting implementation of active learning by tenure-track teaching faculty using robust cluster analysis” (opens in new tab), International Journal of STEM Education, vol. 9, no. 49, 2022.
- Vemu S, Denaro K, Sato BK, Williams AE, “Moving the Needle: Evidence of an Effective Study Strategy Intervention in a Community College Biology Course” (opens in new tab), CBE-Life Sciences Education, vol. 21, 2022.
- DeHaven B, Sato BK, Mello J, Hill T, Syed J, Patel R, “Bootleg Biology: a Semester-Long CURE Using Wild Yeast to Brew Beer” (opens in new tab), Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, vol. 23, no. 3, 2022.
- Wilton M, Vargas P, Prevost L, Sato BK, “Moving towards More Diverse and Welcoming Conference Spaces: Data-Driven Perspectives from Biology Education Research Scholars” (opens in new tab), Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, vol. 23, 2022.
- Rozhenkova V, Sato BK, Buswell NT, “My Blood is Boiling When I Think About Advising: The Role of Academic Advising in STEM Student Retention” (opens in new tab), Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 2022.
- Denaro K, Sato BK, Harlow A, Aebersold A, Verma M, “Comparison of Cluster Analysis Methodologies for Characterization of Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) Data” (opens in new tab), CBE-Life Sciences Education, vol. 20, pp. 1-11, 2021.
- Park ES, Harlow A, Sato BK, “Instructor facilitation mediates students' negative perceptions of active learning instruction” (opens in new tab), PLOS ONE, vol. 16, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- Rodriguez F, Rivas MJ, Matsumura LH, Warschauer M, Sato BK, “How do students study in STEM courses? Findings from a light-touch intervention and its relevance for underrepresented students” (opens in new tab), PLOS ONE, vol. 13, 2018.
- Sato BK, Kadandale P, He W, Murata P, Latif Y, Warschauer M, “Practice Makes Pretty Good: Assessment of Primary Literature Reading Abilities Across Multiple Large Enrollment Biology Laboratory Courses” (opens in new tab), CBE Life Sciences Education, vol. 13, pp. 667-686, 2014.
- Solanki S, McPartlan P, Xu D, Sato BK, “Success with EASE: Who Benefits from a STEM Learning Community?” (opens in new tab), PLOS ONE, vol. 14, 2019.
- Lo SM, Gardner GE, Reid J, Napolean-Fanis V, Carroll P, Smith E, Sato BK, “Prevailing questions and methodologies in biology education research: A longitudinal analysis of research in CBE-Life Sciences Education and at the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research” (opens in new tab), CBE-Life Sciences Education, vol. 18, 2019.
- Xu D, Solanki S, McPartlan P, Sato BK, “EASEing Students into College: The Impact of Multidimensional Support for Underprepared Students” (opens in new tab), Educational Researcher, vol. 47, pp. 435-450, 2018.
- Fernando Rodriguez, Mariela Janet Rivas, Renzhe Yu, Mark Warschauer, Jihyun Park, Brian K. Sato, “Utilizing learning analytics to map students' self-reported study strategies to click behaviors in STEM courses” (opens in new tab), ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, pp. 456-460, 2019.
- Sato BK, Lee AK, Alam U, Dang JV, Dacanay SJ, Morgado P, Pirino G, Brunner JE, Castillo LA, Chan VW, Sandholtz JH, “What's in a prerequisite? A mixed-methods approach to identifying the impact of a prerequisite course” (opens in new tab), CBE Life Sciences Education, vol. 16, 2017.
- Shaffer JF, Dang JV, Lee AK, Dacanay SJ, Alam U, Wong HY, Richards GJ, Kadandale P, Sato BK, “A familiar(ity) problem: Assessing the impact of prerequisites and content familiarity on student learning” (opens in new tab), PLOS ONE, vol. 11, 2016.
- Sato BK, He W, Warschauer M, Kadandale P, “The Grass Isn't Always Greener: Perceptions and Performance on Open Note Exams” (opens in new tab), CBE Life Sciences Education, vol. 14, pp. 1-10, 2015.
- Harlow A, Lo SM, Saichaie K, Sato BK, “Characterizing the University of California's tenure-track teaching position from the faculty and administrator perspectives” (opens in new tab), PLOS ONE, vol. 15, 2020.
Contact Information
Email: bsato@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-0661
Address: 2238 McGaugh Hall MC3900, Irvine, CA 92697
Return to topThis profile was created with the help of AI.
Last updated on 8/25/2025.