Dr. Valdes is a founder and serves as Chairman of the Board and President of PGXL laboratories, LLC. He is a Professor and Senior Vice-Chairman in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and is also Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Dr. Valdes holds the appointment of Distinguished University Scholar at the University of Louisville.

Dr. Valdes is nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in advancing the profession of clinical chemistry through his major contributions in promoting clinical chemistry as a discipline via the scholarships of clinical service, research and teaching. As a result of these activities, Dr. Valdes has played a major role in heading and participating in numerous national committees and in leading several of our key professional organizations. He has served as president of the Clinical Ligand Assay Society (CLAS), president of the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (NACB), and now serves as president of the Commission for Accreditation in Clinical Chemistry (ComACC). Dr. Valdes has also served on the Board of Directors of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) and as a director on the American Board of Clinical Chemistry (ABCC).

Additionally, Dr. Valdes has been engaged in many other national work groups including federal government advisory committees. His scientific interests involve discovery and characterization of biological markers for which his scientific work has been awarded numerous grants from the NIH and other public and private organizations; he has also received several distinguished scientist awards from professional organizations. Dr. Valdes has authored more than 240 publications.