Dr. Ester Perales Clemente is a Senior Clinical Laboratory Director in the Biochemical Genetics Laboratory at Labcorp in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. She has been with Labcorp since July 2020, serving first as an Associate Clinical Laboratory Director before advancing to Senior Director in 2024. In her current role, she leads the professional interpretation of high‑complexity metabolic and biochemical genetics assays and contributes to assay development, workflow improvements, and cross‑site collaborations.
Prior to joining Labcorp, Dr. Perales Clemente completed an ABMGG Clinical Biochemical Genetics fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, where she also served as a Research Associate and Postdoctoral Fellow. Her earlier academic research focused on mitochondrial biology, stem cell metabolism, and the molecular mechanisms underlying inherited metabolic disorders. Dr. Perales Clemente holds a BS in Biochemistry and a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Zaragoza, Spain, where she received the university’s Outstanding Cum Laude PhD Award. She has authored numerous peer‑reviewed publications in high‑impact journals including Science, Cell, PNAS, and EMBO Journal, and has more than 15 years of combined experience in biochemical genetics, mitochondrial research, and clinical laboratory diagnostics.