Valerie Weiss

Valerie Heather Weiss (born 1973) is an American filmmaker and producer. She has directed and produced numerous films and founded the production company PhD Productions in 2004, which focuses on developing films rooted in science. 2Early life Weiss was raised in Philadelphia, PA. She attended Princeton University where she majored in Molecular Biology and earned a Certificate in Theater and Dance. She then attended Harvard University where she earned a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology as well as a Masters in Medical Sciences from Harvard Medical School. While at Harvard, she founded and was the Filmmaker-in-residence and Festival Director of the Dudley House Film Program, the organization's film program for graduate students from 1999-2003. Valerie was accepted into the Catalyst Workshop at the American Film Institute, which was for scientists who wanted to develop science into movies. She had already begun to develop the idea for Losing Control, but this was the first time she ever discussed it publicly. Later she was accepted to the American Film Institute’s prestigious Directing Workshop for Women where they went through three weeks of classes and each received some funds and equipment to make a short film within one week. She made a sci-fi social satire film called Transgressions. 2PhD Productions Valerie founded PhD Productions in 2004 with her husband, Robert Johnso