Jeffra K Schaefer

Jeffra K Schaefer serves as Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University. Her research program investigates microbial influences on trace metal biogeochemistry in natural environments, with field sites in northern wetlands.

Her primary research interests include:

• Microbial transformations in northern wetlands
• Metal availability and bioavailability in anaerobic conditions
• Mechanisms of mercury methylation and demethylation
• Trace metal homeostasis in oxygen-deprived microbial systems

Dr. Schaefer employs interdisciplinary methodologies combining microbial physiology, genetics, and environmental chemistry through bench-top culture experiments and field sampling. She teaches core undergraduate courses including Introduction to Environmental Sciences (Fall/Spring), Soil Ecology (11:375:453/16:375:573), and Analytical Environmental Chemistry Lab (11:375:310).