Valerie Lillian Darcey, Ph.D., M.S., R.D.

Stadtman Investigator

Section on Nutritional and Metabolic Neuroimaging, Diabetes, Endocrinology, & Obesity Branch

NIDDK

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Building NIHBC 12A, Room 4003
12 South Dr
Bethesda, MD 20892

valerie.darcey@nih.gov

Research Topics

The Section on Nutritional and Metabolic Neuroimaging conducts clinical trials to investigate the effects of dietary and metabolic manipulations on neurochemistry underlying behavioral control of impulses and habits. This work combines multimodal neuroimaging techniques to examine human neurochemistry with controlled feeding studies in the inpatient setting. Through studies designed with the goal of isolating causal nutritional or metabolic variables, our aim is to identify such factors that might influence the neurochemistry contributing to motivated and impulsive or habitual behavior. Of particular interest are nutritional factors which influence dopaminergic and GABAergic signaling, measured using molecular neuroimaging techniques such as positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The long-term goal is to develop and test neuroscience-informed dietary strategies to help improve adherence to behavioral interventions.

Biography

  • Stadtman Tenure Track Investigator, NIDDK, NIH, 2024-present
  • Research Fellow, NIDDK, 2022-2024
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, NIDDK, 2017-2022
  • Ph.D., Georgetown University, 2017
  • R.D., Dietetic Intern, NIH Clinical Center, 2011
  • M.S., Drexel University, 2010
  • B.A., University of Pennsylvania, 2003

Selected Publications

  1. Hall KD, Darcey VL. The peril of preconceived narratives. Cell Metab. 2025;37(8):1624-1625.
  2. Darcey VL, Guo J, Chi M, Chung ST, Courville AB, Gallagher I, Herscovitch P, Joseph PV, Howard R, La Noire M, Milley L, Schick A, Stagliano M, Turner S, Urbanski N, Yang S, Zhai N, Zhou MS, Hall KD. Brain dopamine responses to ultra-processed milkshakes are highly variable and not significantly related to adiposity in humans. Cell Metab. 2025;37(3):616-628.e5.
  3. Darcey VL, Guo J, Chi M, Chung ST, Courville AB, Gallagher I, Herscovitch P, Howard R, La Noire M, Milley L, Schick A, Stagliano M, Turner S, Urbanski N, Yang S, Yim E, Zhai N, Zhou MS, Hall KD. Striatal dopamine tone is positively associated with adiposity in humans as determined by PET using dual dopamine type-2 receptor antagonist tracers. Mol Psychiatry. 2025;30(8):3708-3717.
  5. Darcey VL, Guo J, Courville AB, Gallagher I, Avery JA, Simmons WK, Ingeholm JE, Herscovitch P, Martin A, Hall KD. Dietary fat restriction affects brain reward regions in a randomized crossover trial. JCI Insight. 2023;8(12).

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This page was last updated on Wednesday, August 27, 2025