Valerie Ward

Valerie Ward is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Waterloo. Her research encompasses the development of novel bioprocesses for applications in sustainable chemical production and the production of pharmaceuticals.  Her primary focus is the use of microalgae, metabolic engineering, and ionic liquid or membrane based separations in biological systems. Professor Ward has made significant contributions to the development of direct catalysis of wet biomass to biodiesel using ionic liquids and the metabolic engineering of microorganisms for isoprenoid production. Her most recent work focuses on genome engineering of the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and C. variabilis for recombinant protein production.