Hackney Builds Community Through Science and Service
Heidi Opdyke
- Associate Dean of Marketing and Communications, MCS
- Email opdyke@andrew.cmu.edu
- Phone 412-268-9982
Ashley Hackney wants to make scientific discovery accessible for everyone. From working in the lab to helping her fellow students, she has focused on making an impact as a scholar, professional, citizen and person.
Originally from Philadelphia, Hackney was drawn to Carnegie Mellon University by the university’s commitment to undergraduate research. She found a home in the biophysics lab of Stephanie Tristram-Nagle, research professor emerita of physics, where she studies antimicrobial peptides — molecules with the potential to combat antibiotic-resistant infections.
“This research is vital because of the urgent need for alternative strategies to combat antibiotic resistance, which is a growing global health crisis,” Hackney said.
Peptides are extremely small chains of amino acids, the same kind of building blocks that form proteins. Hackney and other members of Tristram-Nagle’s lab investigate peptides that rupture bacteria’s cell membranes, effectively killing the bacteria while leaving human cells unharmed. The group collaborates with the University of Pittsburgh, and one peptide under study is in clinical trials.
Through Carnegie Mellon’s Summer Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship (SURA), Hackney traveled to the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) to collect X‑ray data that reveals how these peptides destroy bacterial membranes. She is co‑authoring a paper on the work — “Lysine Is More Effective Than Arginine in Two Tryptophan-Rich Antimicrobial Peptides” — which will be published later this year.
“Ashley is generally very positive in the lab — she enjoys all aspects of the work,” Tristram-Nagle said. “She is a critical thinker and a natural leader.”
Hackney’s scientific journey has shaped her belief that science is most powerful when it helps others.
“I want to make scientific discovery accessible to everyone,” she said.
That belief began during her first year at Carnegie Mellon when she took EUREKA!: Discovery and Its Impact, a course designed to help Mellon College of Science students build research and academic skills. There, she connected with Ken Hovis, associate dean for educational initiatives and teaching professor of biological sciences, who became an early mentor to her and encouraged her to become a teaching assistant.
“It’s important having somebody rooting for you, and I try to do that for other people,” Hackney said.
Hackney made mentoring others central to her Carnegie Mellon experience. She served as a Tartan Ambassador, supporting first-year Tartan Scholars, and as a teaching assistant for three courses: EUREKA!, the Modern Biology lab and Cell and Developmental Biology.
Carrie Donnan, teaching professor and director of undergraduate laboratories for biological sciences, had Hackney as a teaching assistant. Doonan said that Hackney’s own experiences in the lab made her particularly effective as a teaching assistant.
“Ashley can relate to the students in the lab, identify with them and share her strategies for mastering techniques,” Doonan said. “She is always curious about the science, and not afraid to ask questions until she clearly understands the problem. She makes the extra effort to understand the scientific principles.”
Hackney also served as a community advisor supporting high school and pre-college students. She has supported participants in the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Sciences and spoken on panels for the Summer Academy for Math and Science (SAMS), sharing insights about research and building community at CMU.
“I really got the feel of being a person that could help students learn about a school that I really love and guide them on what CMU has to offer,” Hackney said.
Her leadership extends beyond academics. She held roles within her sorority, danced with CMU’s ballet team Endpoint and volunteered with Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh, a nonprofit that provides free healthcare to underserved communities.
For her efforts, Hackney earned the Mellon College of Science Gilman Award, which honors a graduating senior who has demonstrated exceptional commitment and growth as a scholar, a person, a professional and a citizen during their time at Carnegie Mellon. She has also been recognized as an Andrew Carnegie Society Scholar, she earned a Senior Leadership Award and she shared her journey as a speaker at Carnegie Mellon’s 125th anniversary celebration, the Power of Possibilities.
Hackney plans to attend the University of Pittsburgh’s Biomedical Master’s Program before applying to medical school. She wants to inspire future scientists the same way Carnegie Mellon inspired her.
