This year the Ashton Cuckler New Investigator Award was presented to Dr. Heather Stigge. Dr. Stigge is currently an Assistant Professor of Biology at the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska.
Dr. Stigge completed both her Ph.D. and her postdoctoral work at Oklahoma State University with Dr. Matthew Bolek in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Dr. Stigge's dissertation research focused on questions of life cycle plasticity and site fidelity in hemiurid trematodes that infect various species of invertebrates and anurans. Her research was important with regard to understanding avenues and constraints on gene flow in parasitic organisms and potential mechanisms for speciation within the genus Halipegus. Three recurring observations of Dr. Stigge were her ability to ask and answer important research questions, her ability to involve undergraduates and high school students in laboratory research, and her service to professional societies (ASP and SW Association of Parasitologists) as evidenced by...