Although Stacey Valentine always knew she wanted a career in science, it wasn’t until her own experience as a pediatric patient that she decided to pursue medicine. She was inspired by the work of her pediatricians, and aspired to follow in their footsteps. Her professional journey began at the College of the Holy Cross, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in 1997, and continued at the Robert Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, where she earned a doctorate in 2003. She also completed a fellowship and residency at Boston Children’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Valentine is currently using her expertise in her role as an assistant professor in pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, which she’s held since 2012. Additionally, she is an assistant in critical care medicine in the departments of anesthesiology perioperative and pain medicine at the Boston Children’s Hospital and is affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center. Her responsibilities lie in taking care of critically ill pediatric patients and their families. She previously served as an instructor and trainer at Boston College.
Outside of her clinical and academic experience, Dr. Valentine is also active in research. Her interests at the moment are a pediatric clinical care transfusion and anemia expertise initiative and a project for reducing blood loss. Some of her more recently published papers include “Poor Adherence to Lung-Protective Mechanical Ventilation in Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome,” “Risk Factors for Delayed Enteral Nutrition in Critically Ill Children,” and “Nonpulmonary Treatments for Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Proceedings from the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference.”
To connect with her peers and stay on top of developments in her industry, Dr. Valentine maintains affiliation with the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management, the World Federation of Pediatric Critical Care, and the Pediatric Academy Society, among others. She attributes her success to her mentors, particularly the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Spesis Investigators (PALISI), which was very important and influential to her.
Over the next few years, Dr. Valentine plans to be an associate professor and eventually a full professor. She wants to move up in her career in terms of research, and has been starting to mentor others in research. She would really like to have her own research lab to be better able to help others. As a testament to her hard work and dedication thus far, Dr. Valentine was honored with the Clinician of the Year Award by the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 2012.