Dr. Mathews earned her PhD in Microbiology and Forest Biomaterials from NC State and conducted postdoctoral research with Drs. Rob Dunn and Amy Grunden in the Departments of Applied Ecology and Plant and Microbial Biology. She has been teaching since 2016 at Campbell University and since 2023 at NCSU. Dr. Mathews is passionate about microbiology education, promoting scientific identity, and undergraduate research experiences.