Joy M. Bergelson

Working at the interface of genomics, natural history, classical population genetics, and molecular biology, Bergelson revealed the dynamics of change of organisms and their communities over ecological and evolutionary timescales. Her work provided insights into the interactions of plants with their bacterial pathogens, how plant-pathogen interactions shape evolutionary trajectories, and the identification of genes important for fundamental ecological interactions. She has also been at the forefront in the identification of the genetic basis for adaptation on various scales, from broad patterns of climatic variation to local pathogen interactions. This yielded new insights into how community structure coexists with genetic interactions and how pathogenicity itself evolves.