Welcome to the Steen Lab

Quantitative biogeochemistry and geomicrobiology at the University of Southern California.

Our lab investigates how microbial communities interact with organic matter in marine environments, from the water column to deep sediments. We are actively recruiting passionate researchers.
Our Focus

Research Projects

Extracellular Enzymes

Extracellular Enzymes

Geochemistry and microbial ecology of extracellular enzymes in aquatic environments

Subsurface Enzymes & Community Evolution

Subsurface Enzymes & Community Evolution

Analyzing enzyme structure in subsurface microbes to understand deep-biosphere community assembly

Bioinformatic Meta-Analyses

Bioinformatic Meta-Analyses

Mining public sequence databases to reveal hidden patterns across all microbial life

Thawing Permafrost

Thawing Permafrost

Investigating carbon cycling in Arctic ecosystems as permafrost thaws due to climate change

Outreach & Science Communication

Outreach & Science Communication

Making geomicrobiology accessible and inspiring the next generation of scientists

Updates

Recent Posts and Announcements

Mar 21, 2026
Website Relaunch & New Theme

Welcome to the newly redesigned Steen Lab website! We are thrilled to launch our new platform tracking biogeochemistry research.

Team

People

Principal Investigator

Drew Steen

Drew Steen

Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Earth and Planetary Sciences

Geomicrobiology, Marine organic geochemistry, Bioinformatics, Machine learning

Grad Students

Brianna Green

Brianna Green

Master’s student

soil extracellular enzymes, soil mineralogy

Iyanu Oduwole

Iyanu Oduwole

Ph.D. student

bioinformatics

Jake Perez

Jake Perez

Ph.D. student

mineral surface chemistry, enzymology

Kambiz Kalhor

Kambiz Kalhor

Ph.D. student

microbiology, microbial genetics, bioinformatics, deep learning

Undergrads

Cheyenne Mireles

Cheyenne Mireles

Undergraduate student

environmental science, wildlife and fisheries

Murray Stokes

Murray Stokes

Undergraduate student

analytical chemistry, extracellular enzyme assays

Rily Majors

Rily Majors

Undergraduate student

bioinformatics, enzymology

Alumni

Abigail Barrett

Abigail Barrett

Master’s student

Environmental consulting, Data science

Andrew Lonergan

Andrew Lonergan

Undergraduate student

Geomicrobiology, Extracellular enzymes

Chris Cook

Chris Cook

Master’s student

Geomicrobiology, Harmful algal blooms, Microcystin

Jerry McCrary

Jerry McCrary

Undergraduate student
Jenna Schmidt

Jenna Schmidt

Master’s student

Geomicrobiology, Extracellular enzymes

Lauren Mullen

Lauren Mullen

Master’s student

Microbial Ecology, Extracellular enzymes, Health microbiology

Lauren N. M. Quigley

Lauren N. M. Quigley

Ph.D. student

Aromatic carbon metabolism, Metagenomics, Metatranscriptomics

Mattie Hibbs

Mattie Hibbs

Postbaccalaureate scholar

Geography, Statistics, Atmospheric chemistry

Maryn Miles

Maryn Miles

Undergraduate student

Geomicrobiology, Extracellular enzymes

P. Drew Mather

P. Drew Mather

Undergraduate student

Natural resource management, Water availability law and policy

Rebecca L. Pinals

Rebecca L. Pinals

Visiting student

Nanomaterials in biological environments, Nanosensor development

Russell Spaulding II

Russell Spaulding II

Undergraduate student

STEM teaching, Microplastics

Taylor Royalty

Taylor Royalty

Postdoctoral researcher

Bioinformatics, Data science, Microbial ecology

Zachery Stooksbury

Zachery Stooksbury

Undergraduate student

Biogeochemistry, Aqueous Geochemistry, GIS, Marine Sciences

Academic Output

Featured Publications

Analytical and Computational Advances, Opportunities, and Challenges in Marine Organic Biogeochemistry in an Era of “Omics”
Analytical and Computational Advances, Opportunities, and Challenges in Marine Organic Biogeochemistry in an Era of “Omics”
Drew Steen
Frontiers in Marine Science (2020)
PDF Cite Source Document DOI
Patterns in extracellular enzyme activity and microbial diversity in deep-sea Mediterranean sediments
Patterns in extracellular enzyme activity and microbial diversity in deep-sea Mediterranean sediments
Drew Steen
Deep-Sea Research I (2020)
PDF Cite Source Document DOI
Unaligned Sequence Similarity Search Using Deep Learning
Taylor Royalty, Drew Steen
arXiv (2019)
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High proportions of bacteria and archaea across most biomes remain uncultured
High proportions of bacteria and archaea across most biomes remain uncultured
Drew Steen
ISME Journal (2019)
PDF Cite Source Document DOI
Potential Activities of Freshwater Exo- and Endo-Acting Extracellular Peptidases in East Tennessee and the Pocono Mountains
Potential Activities of Freshwater Exo- and Endo-Acting Extracellular Peptidases in East Tennessee and the Pocono Mountains
Lauren Mullen, Drew Steen
Frontiers in Microbiology (2018)
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New aminopeptidase from “microbial dark matter” archaeon
New aminopeptidase from “microbial dark matter” archaeon
Drew Steen
FASEB Journal (2015)
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Phylogenetically Novel Uncultured Microbial Cells Dominate Earth Microbiomes
Phylogenetically Novel Uncultured Microbial Cells Dominate Earth Microbiomes
Drew Steen
PDF Cite Source Document DOI
Roadmap for naming uncultivated Archaea and Bacteria
Drew Steen
Nature Microbiology
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View Full Publication List
Inquiries & Availability

Contact & Schedule

Get in Touch

Email asteen@usc.edu
Lab Location

USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience
1002 West Childs Way
Los Angeles, CA 90089
United States

Availability Drew's Schedule