NDSU senior Breanne Steffan received the prestigious Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the American Society of Microbiology. Steffan is a microbiology major from Fargo.

The fellowship is aimed at highly competitive students who want to pursue graduate careers in microbiology. Fellows have the opportunity to conduct full-time summer research at their institution with a society mentor and present their research results at the 113th General Meeting of the society in Denver, if their abstract is accepted.

Each fellow receives up to a $4,000 stipend, a two-year student membership to the society and funding for travel expenses to the Presentation Institute and General Meeting. This year, 122 applications were received and 56 were awarded.

Jane Schuh, assistant dean for academic programs and associate professor of veterinary and microbiological sciences, is Steffan’s research mentor. The title of their research project is “Antibody impact on allergic fungal asthma.”

“Breanne is conducting research in my lab,” Schuh explained. “She's a great lab member, a fantastic student and a delightful person. She wants to go on to do infectious disease research and get her doctorate when she graduates.

Janice Haggart, instructor of veterinary and microbiological sciences, serves as Steffan’s academic adviser.

The American Society of Microbiology is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is the oldest and largest single biological membership organization, with more than 40,000 members worldwide. 

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.