Valentina Tamayo Velasquez
HBSc
Graduate Student Academic Placement
Research Interests
Valentina Tamayo joined Waypoint in September 2022 as a first-year Master of Science research student at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Dr. Bernard Le Foll. She is currently enrolled in the Institute of Medical Science (IMS) at the University of Toronto. She completed her Honours Bachelor of Science degree (HBSc) at the University of Toronto with a major in Neuroscience, a minor in Psychology, and a minor in French Studies. She is currently working with Dr. Andrea Waddell to develop and implement a mental health trigger tool as her Thesis project. Valentina has previously worked studying the explore/exploit mechanisms and how they differ in psychiatric patients as well as the underlying mechanisms of co-morbid mental health disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
Valentina has a passion for academia and hopes to transfer to the PhD program within the next year to continue her academic and research journey. Within the Institute of Medical Science Student Association at the University of Toronto, Valentina is the Director of Community Outreach & Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, through which she has led her committee in organizing events such as food drives for Toronto Food not Bombs, making care-packages for Covenant House Toronto, EDI Town Hall, and others. In her free time, Valentina enjoys hiking, reading, and traveling.