Sophia Valiente 🇺🇸

Sophia is from Massachusetts, USA. She graduated with a BS in Chemistry and minors in math and music from Salve Regina University in 2021. There, she studied the metal binding capabilities of metallosensor proteins under Dr. Khadine Higgins. Postgraduation, Sophia worked as a research assistant for Dr. Anatoly Zhitkovich at Brown University investigating DNA damage pathways. She joined the NBD group in August 2026 to study singlet oxygen. She is driven to pursue her PhD out of a keen interest in environmental chemistry and hopes that she can apply her background to help understand toxicological effects of key atmospheric pollutants. In the NBD group she is studying singlet oxygen production and subsequent diffusion through the gas phase. In her free time, Sophia likes reading, tending to her houseplants, playing the flute, and going on little adventures around the city!