As a plant evolutionary ecophysiologist, my research naturally centers on the intersection of plant physiology, ecology, evolution, and genetics. I am interested in the physiological and genetic mechanisms that mediate plant responses to diverse environmental pressures, especially biotic factors like plant-insect interactions (herbivory, pollination) and plant-microbe interactions (disease resistance, fungal symbiosis). All plants face physiological trade-offs between growth, defense, and reproduction, and I seek to understand the coordinated evolution of the traits that govern these three core functions under parallel natural selection in wild plants and especially artificial selection under crop variety diversification. My research has applications to the development of improved crop resilience, including pest and pathogen resistance, improved seed set, and abiotic stress resistance.