Paula McSteen is a scientist known for her research on plant genetics.

Her graduate research defined the genes required to control the development of reproductive organs in Antirrhinum, flowers commonly known as snapdragons.

She has examined the role of multiple genes by corn, including research into bif2 barren inflorescence2 which plays a role in regulation of hormones needed during the development of corn.

[5][6] Through examination of corn that produced malformed ears, McSteen determined that the gene vt2, short for vanishing tassel2, was absent,[7] which means reduced levels of the hormone auxin and leads to malformed ears of corn.

[8] In 2019, McSteen found the barren stalk2 gene, ba2, which impacts the development of the cells that give rise to ears of corn.