Valerie Cuellar is a research associate and REDCap builder. She graduated from Texas Woman’s University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and began working for Dallas Neurobehavioral Associates as a psychometrist, serving the adult and older adult populations. In 2013, Valerie moved to Austin to work for the Pediatric Neuropsychology Clinic at Dell Children’s Medical Center, where she developed a special interest in cognition and quality of life, as well as pre/post-surgical outcomes in pediatrics.
During her time in this role, there was an abundance of patient testing data and no registry for potential research. After self-educating on how to work within REDCap, she built the department’s database and entered in over 200 epilepsy patients, giving them a foundation that would support the neuropsychologists’ and trainees’ research and dissertation endeavors. Many of the clinic’s parent and child information forms were also moved to become REDCap surveys, which helped providers continue to work with families, despite the hinderances brought on by COVID-19.
Valerie was able to support provider and trainee research ideas by compiling data and reviewing posters for epilepsy conferences, but only in between testing patients. After 8 years with Ascension, and 10 years as a psychometrist, Valerie took a Research Associate role within UT Austin to help assist with research from the inside. Her hopes are to create databases and push along research to make new discoveries for the epilepsy population. Valerie made a difference as a psychometrist, but with this role, she wants to help not just one child at a time, but large groups simultaneously.