August 29, 2012
Pictured at an August 1 event for the 2011 NIH PECASE winners are (l to r) Dr. Hung Tseng Director of the NIAMS Extracellular Matrix Biology and Diseases Program; NIAMS Director Dr. Stephen I. Katz; Dr. Horsley; and Dr. Laura Moen Director of the NIAMS Division of Extramural Research Activities
Pictured at an August 1 event for the 2011 NIH PECASE winners are (l to r) Dr. Hung Tseng, Director of the NIAMS Extracellular Matrix Biology and Diseases Program; NIAMS Director Dr. Stephen I. Katz; Dr. Horsley; and Dr. Laura Moen, Director of the NIAMS Division of Extramural Research Activities.

Valerie Horsley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University, has been selected by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to be among 17 NIH grantees and 3 intramural scientists to receive the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). It is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

Dr. Horsley studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control stem cell activity and function within epithelia, the tissues that line the body’s internal organs and outer surfaces. Her laboratory uses cell culture models and the mouse as a genetic model to study how stem cells in epithelial tissues regulate tissue formation and regeneration, and wound healing. Dr. Horsley’s research focuses on how cell communication and regulation of gene expression coordinate to regulate normal and diseased skin tissue.

“The NIAMS applauds Dr. Horsley’s leadership and service to the biomedical research community,” said NIAMS director Dr. Stephen I. Katz. “Her innovative work with hair follicle stem cells holds great promise for advancing the fields of skin wound healing and regenerative medicine.”

Dr. Horsley received her Ph.D. from Emory University in 2003. After finishing her postdoctoral work at The Rockefeller University, she joined the faculty at Yale in January 2009. She was named a 2010 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

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