After graduating from Sterling High School in 2003, Ashley Styczynski attended Truman State University, where she earned a bachelor’s of science degree in biology. She then went to medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago and obtained a master’s degree in public health from John Hopkins University. During her time in medical school, Ashley served as the national student president for the American Medical Women’s Association and received a grant from the Gates Foundation to research microbicides that would prevent the transmission of HIV. Currently, Ashley is an infectious disease fellow at Stanford University, where she is conducting research in infectious disease epidemiology. She just returned from a year in Bangladesh where she was a part of a Fogarty Global Health Fellowship that worked on the spread of antimicrobial resistance before she transitioned to working on three different COVID-19 projects. These three projects consist of exploring the strategies to maximize personal protective equipment to protect healthcare workers who are caring for patients with COVID-19, understanding the role of airborne transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19, and a cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of mask use on community transmission of the virus that generates COVID-19. Ashley has always possessed a love for biology, but it was not until she studied abroad during college that she decided to pursue a career in medicine. While in South Africa, Ashley had a first-hand experience with the trauma a disease can cause a population. This propelled her towards a career in medicine, but Ashley was also eager to take on the challenges that were affecting public health. That is when she decided to seek an occupation in public health, specifically, infectious disease epidemiology. After completing a residency in internal medicine, Ashley joined the Epidemic Intelligence Service at CDC where she participated in disease surveillance, interventions, and outbreak investigations across the world involving such pathogens as Zika virus, monkeypox, and rabies. “Studying abroad was one of the most impactful aspects of my education that substantially increased my intercultural awareness and heavily influenced my career trajectory,” Ashley expressed. “With increased globalization, understanding other perspectives and worldviews will be essential for addressing the growing problems of the world,” Ashley states why traveling and engaging with a variety of communities is so important in order to make a difference in the world. In her career thus far, Ashley has received numerous awards and grants for her outstanding accomplishments and research. These awards include the Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Award Program, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society from Stanford University, Global Health Equity Scholars Fellowship from Fogarty International Center, Infectious Diseases Fellows Award for Clinical Excellence also from the Stanford University, Dr. George Rosenkranz Prize for Health Care Research in Developing Countries, just to name a few. Throughout Ashley’s countless years of research experience, one of her greatest passions has become improving care in low-resource settings. Many countries across the globe do not have the proper resources for safe and functional hospitals, which can turn places of healing into hotspots. In Uganda, Ashley evaluated the sustainability of water and hygiene services in rural healthcare facilities through a scoping review and stakeholder interviews. While in Bangladesh, she investigated maternal and hospital factors that contribute to the transmission of antimicrobial-resistant organisms to newborns, which can lead to life-threatening infections. Ashley has conducted research on a variety of sustainable interventions in order to reduce the transmission of infections in low-resource hospitals. She will finish up her fellowship in July 2021 and then will be returning to the CDC in August where she will take a position as a medical officer in the International Infection Prevention and Control Branch where she will continue working on antimicrobial resistance, outbreak preparedness, and improving the safety of healthcare globally. Outside of her busy work schedule, Ashley enjoys cooking, swing dancing, and spending time outside, either running, biking, or hiking.