Jessica Valle Orero
- Department(s) : Computer Science, Math and Environmental Science
- Graduate Program(s) :
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Biography
Professor Valle-Orero obtained her PhD in 2012 in applied soft matter physics by the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon. Her research was centered in studies of the dynamics and structural properties of DNA fibers. These studies were carried out with a variety of techniques such as neutron and X-ray scattering methods. She then went to do a postdoctoral research in Fernandez Lab at Columbia University (NYC), where she broadened her expertise in the interface between physics and biochemistry focusing on understanding the dynamics and mechanics of protein folding at single molecule level. She is currently conducting biophysics research at the ENS Paris.
The physics of biomolecules has been the central theme of her research activity, however her work has actually covered a variety of topics, techniques, and methods, from studies of statistical ensembles of molecules and bulk systems to single molecule investigations. Her research had a strong experimental focus, but, as experiments must always be completed by a theoretical understanding to reveal their full potential, she devoted significant efforts to models and theories to analyze her results. She performed experiments with large scale instruments (X-ray and neutron scattering techniques), but also used laboratory scale apparatus allowing her to investigate phenomena outside the range in which they are generally measured. Moreover, in her work she tried to make the link between the molecular and macroscopic scales, showing for instance how properties of DNA can develop into a glass or how protein conformations are related to tissue elasticity.
To date, she had taught courses at various higher education institutions, including Columbia University, Ecole Normale Superieure, Ecole Superieure Commerce Paris, and AUP. She became an Assistant professor at AUP in 2022.