My research broadly focuses on equity and inclusion in graduate STEM education, particularly exploring the impact of norms, expectations, and quality mentorship on biology graduate students' outcomes and well-being. My interests encompass diverse topics, such as studying imposter phenomenon in graduate students, examining how first-generation college students navigate the hidden curriculum in graduate school, and investigating norms that perpetuate inequality for marginalized STEM graduate students. I am currently working on two projects. The first focuses on biology doctoral students' experiences with imposter phenomenon, aiming to identify contributing factors and coping mechanisms when expectations conflict with individual values. The second project utilizes a social network approach to explore how graduate students build mentorship networks beyond their primary advisors, identifying key mentors and characteristics of an "ideal mentor."

Renbarger, R., Rehfeld, D., Saxon, T., & Steele, A. (2022). Representation has changed: The need to update graduate student development theory to reflect marginalized populations’ experiences in the Ph.D. Opportunity Matters: Journal of Access and Opportunity in Education, 20.
   
   Tracy, C., Pruett, J., Driessen, E., Beatty, A., Klabacka, R., Lamb, T., Claudio-Ford, I., Smith, T., Botello, J., Brittain, C., Steele, A., Josefson, C., Ballen, C. (2022) Why students struggle in undergraduate biology: Sources and solutions. CBE – Life Sciences Education, 21(3), ar48. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.21-09-0289
   
   Parson, L., Steele, A., Tatum, Jr., K., Weise, J., & Allison, M. (2022). Identifying the competencies of an ethical leader in Air Force contexts. Journal of Character and Leadership Development, 9(1), 75-92.
   
   Steele, A. L. (2021). Using the teaching and learning environment to promote equity and inclusion in introductory biology classrooms. Book Chapter, Teaching and Learning for Social Justice and Equity in Education: Content Areas. New York: NY: Palgrave
   
   Parson, L., Steele, A., & Wilkins, E. B. (2021). A gendered “ideal?” Discourses that characterize the ideal scientist. International Journal of Gender, Science, and Technology, 13(1), 64-85. http://genderandset.open.ac.uk/index.php/genderandset/article/view/735
   
   Steele, A. L., & Warner, D. A. (2020). Sex-specific effects of developmental temperature on morphology, growth, and survival of offspring in a lizard with temperature-dependent sex determination. The Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 130(2), 320-335. https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/130/2/320/5815733?login=true
   
   Steele, A., Parson, L., & Wilkins, E. (2020). Coordinating transitions: Exploring the STEM institution from the standpoint of freshman and transfer undergraduate women. The Journal for Science Education Research.
   
   Parson, L., & Steele, A. (2019). Higher education in crisis? An institutional ethnography of an international university in Hungary. Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education, 5, 17-34. https://doi.org/10.28945/4490
   
   Parson, L., & Steele, A. (2019). Institutional autonomy and academic freedom in Hungary: A historiography of Hungarian higher education. Colleges & Universities, 94(4), 10-23. https://www.aacrao.org/research-publications/quarterly-journals/college-university-journal/article/c-u-vol.-94-no.-4-fall-2019/institutional-autonomy-and-academic-freedom-in-hungary-a-historiography-of-hungarian-higher-education
   
   Steele, A. L., Wibbels, T., and Warner, D.A. (2018). Revisiting the first report of temperature-dependent sex determination in a vertebrate, the African redhead agama. Journal of Zoology. 306(2018), 16-22. doi:10.1111/jzo.12560 https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jzo.12560

  Ph.D. - 2022, Auburn University, Higher Education
   
   MS - 2017, Auburn University, Biological Sciences
   
   BA - 2015, University of St. Thomas, Biology