Hertz Fellow Jim Valcourt

James R. Valcourt (Jim) is a Molecular Biology concentrator and is pursuing a certificate in Quantitative and Computational Biology. Born in Concord, Massachusetts, Jim grew up in the nearby town of Sterling. He attended Wachusett Regional High School, where he became fascinated with a variety of biological questions while working on science fair projects. During high school, Jim conducted independent research in the Theurkauf Lab at the University of Massachusetts Medical School into the mechanisms of anoxia tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster, and he studied the role of centriolin in mitotic abscission under Professor Stephen Doxsey.
At Princeton, Jim received his basic science training in the Integrated Science program, which helped foster his interest in computational methods and interdisciplinary approaches to research. He is currently working with Professor Hilary Coller on his thesis, which explores interactions between microRNAs and RNA-binding proteins and alternative mRNA isoform usage in quiescent cells. In the past, Jim has developed methods for the quantitative study of cephalic furrow formation in D. melanogaster under Professor Eric Wieschaus, and he has studied regions of high structural variation in the human genome with the Korbel group at the European Molecular Biology Labs in Heidelberg, Germany. Jim is a recipient of the M. Taylor Pyne Honor Prize, the top general distinction awarded to a Princeton undergraduate, and the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence.
Outside of the lab, Jim is the chairman of the Princeton Tiger Magazine, the second-oldest college humor magazine in the country. He is an Eagle Scout, a Leader Trainer for Princeton's Outdoor Action program, and an avid backpacker. He also serves as a Princeton tour guide, the Speakers Chair for the Student Bioethics Forum, and a Peer Tutor and Academic Advisor.
After graduation, Jim will work for two years at D.E. Shaw Research in New York before continuing his studies in a Systems Biology PhD Program. He plans to continue to harness the combined power of computational and experimental approaches to solve biological problems. In the future, Jim plans continue applying the quantitative and computational techniques that he has learned during his work to pursue a position as a professor at a research university.