Mariel Pfeifer
Mariel is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Mississippi. She was trained as a biology education researcher and as a cell biologist. Her research expertise is in using qualitative methods to study topics like self-advocacy in STEM students with disabilities and science identity.
More about Mariel
Mariel is from a small town in Wyoming. She's a first-generation college student and identifies as having non-apparent disabilities. These experiences influence how she approaches research, teaching, and mentoring.
She earned three bachelors degrees in biology, microbiology, and secondary education. After undergrad, she worked as a disability services coordinator, where she saw that research was needed to help make STEM courses more equitable for students with disabilities. With this research interest in mind, she joined the lab of Dr. Julie Stanton at the University of Georgia for her Ph.D.
She earned her Ph.D. in Plant Biology, where she was awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship for STEM Education. Mariel then completed a postdoc with Dr. Erin Dolan at the University of Georgia, studying science identity.
Outside of work, Mariel likes to cycle and take barre classes. She's a proud pet parent to her dog, Flossy, and two cats, Sophie and Rupert.
