She joined Mount Sinai to start her own laboratory in 2011, after completion of the postdoctoral studies at Dr. Paul Greengard's Laboratory at The Rockefeller University in New York. Dr. Schaefer’s research focuses on the epigenetic mechanisms of neurological disordes such as epilepsy, autism, and neurodegeneration. Recently her lab pioneered studies of the epigenetic control of microglia diversification and function. Dr. Schaefer has been awarded with a NARSAD Young Investigator Award, Cure Challenge Award, Seaver Autism Research Award, Harold and Golden Lamport Research Award, and was named a 2014 Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).