Valerie Paul, Ph.D.
Head Scientist
Smithsonian Marine Station
Dr. Valerie Paul has been the Director and Head Scientist of the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Florida since 2002. She received her Ph.D. in Marine Biology in 1985 from the University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and then served on the faculty of the University of Guam Marine Laboratory from 1985-2002. In Guam, Valerie built a research program focused on marine chemical ecology and coral reef studies. Her ongoing research interests include marine cyanobacteria and algal blooms, coral reef ecology, marine chemical ecology and natural products. She is the author or co-author of over 300 scientific research papers and review articles. Valerie was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1996. In 2019, she was selected as the Silver Medal Award recipient recognizing career achievement by the International Society of Chemical Ecology. In 2020, she received the Paul J. Scheuer Award in Marine Natural Products. Her work on coral reefs has been recognized with the Eminence in Research Award from the International Coral Reef Society in 2020. She has also focused her research on marine cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and has led algal bloom studies in the Indian River Lagoon and around the world. She is a member of the State of Florida Blue-Green Algae Task Force and was recently elected to serve on the National Harmful Algae Bloom Committee.
