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Valerie Weiss
Valerie Weiss
00:52

Valerie Weiss

PhD Productions

Los Angeles, CA USA

"If I never get to the finish line, if I'm poor, if I don't have a family as a result, if I give up everything else I want, what one thing is still going to be worth having done?"

Career Roadmap

Valerie's work combines: Film, Science, and Working with Others

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Day In The Life

Harvard Biochemist & Science Filmmaker

I'm a filmmaker and producer making films rooted in science, working to bridge the gap between art and science.

Skills & Education

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Molecular Biology

    Princeton University

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General

    Princeton University

  • Doctorate

    Biophysics

    Harvard University

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life has been direct

  • 1.

    From a very young age, she was acutely aware of how short life was.

  • 2.

    Realized that if she became an actress, she'd get to experience all kinds of careers in one lifetime.

  • 3.

    Then, in tenth grade, she fell in love with biology; between science and the arts, she felt like she could study anything.

  • 4.

    When it came down to it, she knew that filmmaking was her first choice; she loves it because she can tell any story in any field.

  • 5.

    But she also made herself go through her Ph.D. studies in science because she never wanted to regret choosing one over the other.

  • 6.

    She went to Harvard and did her Ph.D. in biophysics and biochemistry, and while she was writing her dissertation, she shot her first film.

  • 7.

    Recently, she made a romantic comedy film called Losing Control about a young female scientist; felt that finally combined all her passions.

  • 8.

    Says you have to ask yourself if there's one thing you'd be willing to give everything else up for, and if there is, you have to go after it.