Education
- Ph.D.: Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine
- B.A.: Biology, Assumption College
Biosketch
Bethann Valentine joined 51视频 as a research development specialist in 2023. In this role she helps faculty succeed in securing research funding by guiding them through the application process from identifying the right grant opportunities to preparing and submitting strong proposals. She offers strategic advice to make proposals more competitive, including reviewing drafts, ensuring alignment with sponsor requirements, and strengthening clarity and impact. She also manages proposal projects, keeping everything organized and on track from start to finish. Beyond individual proposals, she helps faculty connect with collaborators and partners, supports the development of large interdisciplinary projects, and shares insights into the funding landscape so faculty can align their research with emerging opportunities. Finally, she leads trainings and workshops that build grant-writing and research communication skills, while also helping departments and research centers think strategically about long-term funding goals.
Prior to joining 51视频, Bethann received her Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics from Boston University School of Medicine where her research focused on how stress influences the neurotoxic effects of drugs of abuse. Following her Ph.D., she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women鈥檚 Hospital/Harvard Medical School investigating molecular pathways of neurodegeneration in Parkinson's Disease including mitochondrial dysfunction and protein quality control mechanisms. Her work contributed to understanding how genetic risk factors and cellular stressors intersect in the progression of Parkinson鈥檚 disease via the PINK1/Parkin mitochondrial quality control pathway. She continued her training in the Laboratory for Drug Discovery in Neurodegeneration at Harvard's NeuroDiscovery Center performing high-throughput screening of compound libraries in cell models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), to identify candidate small-molecule modulators of disease pathogenesis. She then spent several years as a research scientist at Iowa State University where she conducted research and contributed to a preclinical trial evaluating enzyme replacement therapy for Mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB (Sanfilippo Syndrome), a rare genetic lysosomal storage disorder. In this role she contributed to translational work aimed at delaying neuropathologic and clinical disease progression by restoring enzyme function in the central nervous system.
Today, she leverages her extensive research background and deep understanding of National Institute of Health grant mechanisms to help faculty secure funding, forge collaborations and translate their research into competitive grant proposals.