Pfeifer officially joined the faculty of the SIPS Horticulture Section as an assistant professor in January 2026.
Our Research
We conduct rigorous research that provides the evidence STEM instructors, departments, and universities need to improve education for everyone. We use social science research methods combined with biology and STEM perspectives to address our research questions. Our research centers on the question: How can we create STEM educational practices that better support students and instructors?
About Me
I'm from a small town in Wyoming and am a first-generation college student. I earned three bachelor's degrees in biology, microbiology, and secondary education. After undergrad, I worked as a disability services coordinator. During that time, I realized research was needed to make STEM courses more accessible to students with disabilities.
With this research interest in mind, I joined the lab of Dr. Julie Stanton at the University of Georgia (UGA) for my Ph.D. studies. There I studied the self-advocacy experiences of STEM undergraduates with learning disabilities. My dissertation research spanned two fields. In addition to conducting STEM education research, I also investigated mechanisms of nuclear migration in the rice blast fungus under the mentorship of Dr. Chang-Hyun Khang.
While at UGA, I received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and an ARCS Scholar award. I then completed my postdoctoral training with Dr. Erin Dolan at UGA, focusing on science identity.
Outside of work, I like to hike, cycle, and take barre classes. I'm a proud pet parent to my dog, Flossy, and two cats, Sophie and Rupert.
