Valerie Flaherman, MD, MPH
Professor
Pediatrics
School of Medicine

valerie.flaherman@ucsf.edu 415-502-6266

I am a pediatrician, epidemiologist and clinical investigator with a research program focused on preventive interventions in early childhood. I have been Principal Investigator (PI) of seven randomized controlled trials of breastfeeding interventions during the birth hospitalization, which have been funded by a variety of federal and philanthropic sources. This work has been conducted in the U.S.

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as well as internationally in a variety of low- and middle-income countries including Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and Uganda. Additionally, I serve in the leadership of of the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) study, a trans-NIH initiative to examine the effects of Long COVID on children and adults, and as a co-investigator for the 11-country Global Scales of Early Development Norms & Standards Study (GSED 2.0). My clinical practice includes pediatric primary care and lactation consultation at the UCSF Newborn Nursery and at Pediatric Acute Care at Mt. Zion.

Education & Training

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  • Preventive Medicine Residency Epidemiology and Biostatistics University of California, San Francisco 2005
  • M.P.H. School of Public Health University of California, Berkeley 2004
  • Pediatrics Residency Pediatrics Children's Hospital Oakland 1996
  • M.D. School of Medicine Harvard University 1992
  • A.B. Social Studies Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges 1987

Interests

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  • newborn care
  • preventive medicine
  • clinical trials
  • breastfeeding
  • lactation

Websites

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Grants and Projects

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  • Relaxation Intervention to Improve Newborn Growth and Maternal Well-Being (RING-MW), NICHD, 2025-2027
  • Global Scales for Early Development 2.0, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, 2023-2026
  • Clinical Validation of the Aptitude Medical Systems Multiplex Respiratory Tests in At-Home/Non-Laboratory Settings, Aptitude Medical Systems, 2025-2026
  • Pregnancy Cohort--RECOVER, NIH, 2021-2026
  • Preventing Growth Impairment in Low-Income Countries: The Relationship Between Maternal Milk Composition and Infant Growth, Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine, 2023-2024
  • MRI Scans in Kampala, Uganda, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2022-2024
  • Preventing Infant Malnutrition with Early Supplementation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2018-2023
  • Participatory Public Health and Community Engagement: Amplifying Perspectives on Healthcare, Policy, and Research from those most impacted by COVID-19, Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, 2020-2023
  • COVID-19 PRIORITY Registry, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2020-2021
  • The Early Limited Formula Study, HRSA/MCHB, 2014-2017
  • Improving breastfeeding outcomes by interventions targeted toward at-risk infants, NIH, 2009-2015

Publications (110)

Top publication keywords:
Infant FormulaPregnancy Complications, InfectiousMilk BanksBottle FeedingJaundice, NeonatalWeight LossInfant Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaBreast Milk ExpressionNomogramsDietary SupplementsBreast FeedingInfant, NewbornBirth WeightMilk, HumanMothers

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