Mérilie Gagnon holds a bachelor's degree in biology from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.

She then specialized in agri-food microbiology, completing a Master's degree at Université Laval in Dr. Denis Roy's microbial genomics laboratory.

In 2020, she completed her doctorate in agri-food microbiology in the same laboratory, and was named to the Honor Roll of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship from 2021 to 2024 on the impact of biofilms in the dairy industry, funded by Dairy Research Cluster 3 (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada). She has developed extensive expertise in microbial culture and genomics, microbial ecology and interactions, and biofilms. Mérilie is now a researcher in maple syrup microbiology.

Since joining the Centre ACER in 2024, her research activities have focused on assessing the impact of various maple syrup practices on the quality of maple sap and syrup. She has a keen interest in carrying out projects in collaboration with members of the maple syrup industry, in order to address the sector's issues.

Mérilie is also interested in projects related to the health benefits of consuming maple products, including the impact on intestinal microbiota.