Her research interests are centred on understanding the molecular, genetic, and biochemical adaptations of microbes in extreme habitats, in particular the Arctic and sub-Arctic permafrost, using both traditional microbiology and next-generation tools such as metagenomics. She is particularly interested in how microbial communities respond to disturbances, particularly climate change. Professor Mackelprang earned a PhD in genetics at the University of Washington, Seattle in 2006, before embarking on a postdoctoral fellowship in computational biology jointly at the DOE Joint Genome Institute and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory between 2007 and 2011. In 2011, she moved to her current institution, California State University, Northridge, as an Assistant Professor in Biology, before being promoted to Associate Professor in 2016.