Penelope Steffen is a Carleton College Class of 2027 Biology major with interests in biochemistry and disease ecology. Her research focuses on host-pathogen and host-parasite relationships and how environmental conditions influence infection risk and disease dynamics.

Previous research experience: I have worked as a disease ecology research assistant at Carleton since 2024. A realistic version of my work would include collecting and processing field samples, maintaining clean datasets across field seasons, running basic laboratory assays, and analyzing how variables such as habitat or weather relate to infection prevalence. Staying with one project for multiple years has also helped me see how research questions change after the first round of results.

How I got started: I got started after a biology course introduced me to disease ecology and I realized I wanted more than a one-term lab experience. I went to office hours, asked about the professor's ongoing work, and started with the tasks the lab needed most before gradually taking on more responsibility.

Open to being contacted: Maybe, ask me first

Preferred contact: LinkedIn

Advice/notes: disease ecology; biology labs; field sampling; ecological data; long-term research assistantships; R and data analysis; approaching professors; balancing field and laboratory work

Links

Location

Northfield

Northfield, MN 55057, USA