Welcome to a new edition of “Meet the Team”!
Today, we introduce you to José Luis Vallés, Senior Researcher at ProtoQSAR, who combines his passion for computational chemistry with an innovative approach to data science.
José Luis holds a degree in Chemistry from the Universitat de València and a PhD in Computational Chemistry from Leiden University. During his doctoral studies, he focused on modeling catalysts for the water oxidation as part of an artificial photosynthesis project. Later, his work shifted to studying compounds for developing LCD screens. Over time, he expanded his expertise into data science, which led him to work as a data analyst at IIS-LaFe before joining ProtoQSAR to contribute to the GenoQSAR project (Project number: 101030422). This initiative aims to develop predictive models for various genotoxic properties of chemical compounds.
In his current role, José Luis leads the BIO-SUSHY project, which seeks to establish a comprehensive framework for developing innovative organic and hybrid repellent coatings, providing a sustainable alternative to the widely used but environmentally harmful polyfluorinated alkyl substances. His responsibilities range from sourcing and cleaning databases to developing predictive models, publishing results in scientific journals, and participating in communication and outreach activities. What he enjoys most about his work is data handling, whether it involves creating and cleaning datasets or building predictive models. Although he hasn’t had the opportunity to work with dashboards in his current role, it’s a skill he values highly from his time at IIS-LaFe.
Outside of work, José Luis is passionate about basketball, a sport he actively plays and follows, particularly the women’s Valencia Basket team. This passion is something he has even shared with his children. Additionally, he is an avid fan of PC video games, especially lesser-known or classic titles.
When it comes to cultural recommendations, José Luis highlights “The Bard’s Song” by Blind Guardian as his favorite song, the Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy (still in progress) by Patrick Rothfuss as his favorite book, and, instead of a movie, he suggests the video game “Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis”. However, he holds a special fondness for the Monkey Island series.
Thank you, José Luis, for sharing your journey and interests with us! 😊
