“It is amazing how you provide such excellent care and still manage to make patients feel special.” — SDFC Patient
Dr. Valerie A. Flores
Biography
Valerie A. Flores, M.D., FACOG
Dr. Flores is committed to providing patients with compassionate, evidence-based care. Her warm, caring nature combined with her research background allow her to translate reproductive research into the clinical setting to ensure her patients are informed and supported while also receiving excellent, innovative care during their fertility journey. As the oldest of four, and part of a large extended family, Dr. Flores understands the importance of creating a family and it is her goal to help patients achieve this through personalized care.
While originally from Southern California, Dr. Flores completed most of her training on the East Coast. Dr. Flores received her medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine, completed her Ob/Gyn residency at Brown University, and completed her REI fellowship at the Yale University School of Medicine. Following completion of her fellowship, Dr. Flores stayed on at Yale as an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale School of Medicine, and a Reproductive Scientist Development Program (RSDP) K12 grant scholar (a National Institute of Health (NIH)- funded physician-scientist development program). Her research was focused on determining the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of endometriosis-mediated pain and infertility in order to develop novel, personalized therapies aimed at treating this debilitating disease. This work was inspired by her aunt who struggled with endometriosis and ultimately conceived with fertility treatment. Seeing the important role her aunt’s physician had in relieving the uncertainty when faced with a diagnosis of infertility, and in helping her build her family is something Dr. Flores is deeply committed to for her own patients—helping her patients achieve their family building goals is something she finds deeply rewarding, and she is truly honored to be a part of their fertility journey. In addition to endometriosis, her clinical interests include IVF, infertility, fertility preservation, endometrial disorders such as Asherman’s syndrome, and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Infertility affects 1 in 6 individuals, and too often patients silently struggle. My mission is to break that silence with compassionate, individualized, evidence-based care. Inspired by my aunt’s infertility journey, I am committed to helping my patients achieve their family-building goals, and I am truly honored to be a part of their fertility journey—together, let’s turn your dream of having a family into a reality.
Dr. Flores is the recipient of several research awards, including the Society of Reproductive Investigation (SRI) Early Career Investigator Award supported by the National Institutes of Health, the SRI/Bayer Discovery Grant, and the Bennack-Polan Foundation Grant. She is also the Chair of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Endometriosis Special Interest Group (EndoSIG). Given her work, she has been invited to present at several national and international meetings as well as several medical institutions. Dr. Flores has published peer-reviewed articles in leading scientific journals including the Lancet, Endocrine Reviews, and JCEM. She is also an associate contributor to Speroff’s Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, the primary reproductive endocrinology and infertility textbook. She contributes to the education of medical students, residents, and fellows and while at Yale served on the Medical Education Committee, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Task Force and was the faculty advisor for the Medical Student Ob/Gyn Interest Group. Dr. Flores is also an Assistant Professor Adjunct at Yale School of Medicine.
Dr. Flores enjoys spending quality time with her family, karaoke, cycling, college football, and exploring new places in San Diego with her Maltipoo, Lulu.
