Veronica Villalon is the Associate Director of Safety and Medical Laser Safety Officer (MLSO) for the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center and Benioff Children’s Hospital. I have been a certified MLSO since 2011.  I completed both my B.S. in Chemistry and B.S. in Biology at UC Irvine (UCI) and studied synthetic organic chemistry for my Ph.D. at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB).  My first research project working with lasers was as an undergraduate at the Beckman Laser Institute (BLI) at UCI studying treatment of endometriosis using photodynamic therapy (PDT).  I have worked with lasers for over a decade and now oversee program compliance with Laser Safety across UCSF Health and have expanded my role as a technical advisor for Benioff Children’s Hospital – Oakland and ZSFGH.  By becoming the MLSO for our institution, I am able to help UCSF meet the accreditation standards necessary to maintain patient care operations and provide the best health care.