Dr. Valenzuela was born in Mexico and moved to the United States at the age of eight. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Johns Hopkins University where she studied neuroscience. After graduating, she became the inaugural research scholar for the Center for Salud/Health and Opportunity for Latinos at Johns Hopkins and began her career in health services research. She moved to Portland to complete her medical school and pediatric residency training at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine. She is currently completing her pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at CHOP.

Her background and ability to communicate with patients in Spanish inspired her research career in improving healthcare access and quality for families who speak languages other than English. She has participated in creating multiple research studies to improve quality of care for Spanish-speaking immigrant families and enjoys partnering with families in research development. As a gastroenterologist, she is focused on improving access to specialty care and patient education for GI and liver diseases.