Valentina Greco was born on September 3, 1972, in Palermo, Italy. She earned an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Palermo in 1996, where she first engaged in academic research. This initial work, conducted in the lab of Aldo Di Leonardo (1995–1998), focused on studying the role of tumor suppressors in the cell cycle using in vitro systems. Seeking broader opportunities, she moved to Germany to join Suzanne Eaton and the EMBL/MPI-CBG PhD program (1998–2002). During this time, she developed a deep appreciation for microscopy and developmental biology, using the fly wing imaginal disc as a model system to study epithelial cell communication.Following her PhD, Valentina Greco pursued postdoctoral training in the lab of Elaine Fuchs at The Rockefeller University (2003–2009). There, she expanded her expertise by exploring the mammalian skin and hair follicle as a model for stem cell-driven regeneration. This experience prepared her for the next step, joining Yale School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics on August 1, 2009, thanks to the support of Richard Lifton and Haifan Lin.
Today, Valentina Greco is the Carolyn Walch Slayman Professor of Genetics, she serves as Co-Chair of the Status of Women in Medicine (SWIM) at Yale School of Medicine and is an HHMI investigator. Her lab is dedicated to visually driven research to uncover how cells behave within living mouse tissues. The lab views cellular behavior as a reflection of the architectural principles and systems that sustain tissue function, akin to how human behavior reflects the structures and environments in which people operate, such as labs or organizations. The work is driven by a passion to unravel the mechanisms of communication and cooperation that enable tissues to function and thrive over a lifetime.
