2024 Early Alumni Excellence Award Recipient
Dr. Ashley Stegelmeier
BSc '15, Honours Biology
MSc '17, Biology
Ashley is passionate about the invisible microbial world. She is dedicated to using the smallest of organisms to tackle the world’s largest challenges. She obtained her BSc (‘15, Co-op) and MSc (‘17) in Microbiology from the University of Waterloo under Dr. Josh Neufeld. In 2021 she received her doctorate from the University of Guelph. Ashley has over 20 publications to date on a range of microbial topics including archaea, the skin microbiome, oncolytic virotherapy, and adeno-associated virus gene therapy. She has won over 40 awards including the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.
Ashley is currently the Director of Product Development at Ceragen. Her research focuses on developing inoculants for the hydroponic greenhouse industry to increase the supply of nutritious fruits and vegetables. At Ceragen, Ashley leads a team of world class researchers that have brought two bacterial inoculant products to market for use with tomatoes and lettuce. Her research team uses novel isolation techniques paired with whole genome sequencing to culture previously unculturable microorganisms.
Throughout her career Ashley has had the opportunity to mentor 21 graduate and undergraduate students, helping them gain the scientific skills required to excel in their field. Ashley’s work on Ceragen’s co-op mentorship program led to Ceragen being recognized as Waterloo Co-op Employer of the Year for Impact in Research in 2022.
When Ashley isn’t in the lab, she enjoys playing her clarinet as the President of the Waterloo Concert Band. She is also an avid gardener, baker, and runner.