Dr. Valerie Horsley is a cell/developmental biologist who is a Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University and of Dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine. She is a member of the Yale Stem Cell Center and Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Horsley received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Furman University, her PhD in Biochemistry, Cell, and Developmental Biology from Emory University, and completed postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University. Her lab uses mouse genetics, genomic technology, and cell biology to study skin development, repair, and homeostasis. In her laboratory, Dr. Horsley and her team investigate the essential biological interactions that regenerate tissues. Using multipronged approaches including mouse genetics, cell culture models, genomics, metabolomics, and microscopy, they define novel mechanisms that underpin regenerative biology. This work has revealed several aspects of tissue regeneration and fibrosis by investigating the connective tissue or stroma cells including fibroblast-lineage cell fate plasticity, lipid storage/release, regulation of inflammation, and new cellular interactions that drive blood vessel repair or angiogenesis. Dr. Horsley's contributions extend beyond the laboratory as she has been instrumental in organizing stem cell niche and fibrosis communities as well as serving in several leadership roles at Yale including Chair of Yale's Faculty of Arts and Science and Engineering Senate and in international research societies. Dr. Horsley and her team's contributions to the field have been recognized by the Pew Foundation, Genetics Society of America, the Society for Investigative Dermatology, the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering from the White House, and the Society for Matrix Biology.