Ann E. Hajek attended the University of California, Davis, for two years and graduated in 1974 from the University of California, Berkeley (UCB). She then spent three years as a practicing entomologist and a science writer before beginning graduate studies at UCB. Studying at the Division of Biological Control, she earned her M.S. in 1980 and her Ph.D. in 1984. Moving to Ithaca, New York, Hajek worked in insect pathology at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) for 10 years. In 1994, the Cornell Department of Entomology conducted an international search for a professor of insect pathology, and Hajek accepted this position. She attained the rank of associate in 2000 and full professor of entomology in 2005. She received the L. O. Howard Distinguished Achievement Award, Eastern Branch, ESA (2015) and the Distinguished Scientist Award, Nearctic Regional Section, International Organization of Biological Control (2011). Hajek served as a visiting and honorary professor in zoology at the University of Copenhagen (2011-2016) and adjunct professor at Anhui Agricultural University, China (2008-2011). She has presented invited talks in many countries and U.S. states. She has been very active in leadership roles within the Society for Invertebrate Pathology. She was elected as an Entomological Society of America Fellow in 2018. She is nationally and internationally known for her research in invertebrate pathology, biological control, disease ecology, and invasive species.
