About Me
Tenaya K. Vallery, Ph.D. is a research associate with Dr. Bradley Olwin at the University of Colorado, Boulder. As a research associate, she is conducting studies to better understand how adult stem cells facilitate wound healing and how this differs with aging.
Tenaya graduated Mount Holyoke College in 2010 with a B.A. in Biochemistry and Yale in 2018 with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, advised by Dr. Joan A. Steitz. During her graduate work, she applied her understanding of RNA and microscopy to ask research questions regarding viral long noncoding RNA (lncRNA). Her research focused on the regulation of both host and viral gene expression by the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), shedding light onto spatial and temporal activities of viral transcripts, including messenger and noncoding RNAs, during the lytic phase.
Her over-a-decade research experience also includes the study of pathogens such as Plasmodium falciparum and RNA molecules like riboswitches and the ribosome. She has published in Science, Molecular Cell, Genes and Development, and more and has presented her research at conferences both domestically and internationally. Her latest publication focused on host-virus co-evolution, quantifying human cell morphology changes related to viral replication. Dr. Vallery earned Yale’s Certificate of College Teaching Preparation and has taught at Bard College. At Yale, she earned an Excellence in Teaching as a co-head teaching assistant.
After graduating Yale, Tenaya was a chemistry teacher and co-director of the Engineering, Design, and Innovation (EDI) Fellows at Norfolk Academy in Norfolk, VA. There she taught Introductory Chemistry (10th Grade) and Organic Chemistry and co-directed the EDI Fellows Program, which is a curriculum of science and technology blended with civic-engagement and leadership. She then returned to research by joining Dr. John Rinn’s Laboratory at CU Boulder, identifying the protein partners of a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and investigating how often common chromatin-binding proteins use lncRNA to remodel chromatin and change gene expression.
In her spare time, Tenaya is out hiking and practicing yoga. She earned a 500h yoga teacher certificate (YA certified) with Asheville Yoga Center, NC. She is also a passionate Mount Holyoke alumna and donates her time helping fellow alumnae and students.
