Valerie Estela-Pro

Valerie Estela-Pro is currently serving as the External Scientific Affairs Manager at the National Disease Research Interchange since April 2023. Prior to this role, Valerie worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia from October 2020 to March 2023, focusing on the impact of individual stress responses on learning and memory. Valerie completed a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Brown University between 2014 and 2020, where research centered on the functional connectivity of medial temporal lobe structures in spatial memory tasks. Early career experience includes a position as a Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology Biologist at WIL Research Laboratories from 2011 to 2014, conducting preclinical trials to assess the effects of drugs and chemicals on development and health. Valerie also engaged in undergraduate research at Lehigh University, where studies in the Behavioral Ecology Laboratory explored mate choice in convict cichlids, alongside roles as a Library Associate and Student Tutor.