Jesse R. Lasky

Jesse R. Lasky is an Associate Professor of Biology at Pennsylvania State University, affiliated with the Department of Biology and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. His research focuses on evolutionary genetics, ecology, and plant physiology, particularly studying local adaptation to environmental challenges and host-symbiont coevolution. Key organisms include Arabidopsis thaliana, sorghum landraces, and Striga hermonthica.

Education: A.B. in Biology from Kenyon College (2004), Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from the University of Texas at Austin (2012), followed by postdoctoral training at Columbia University (2012-2015). Awards include the Jasper Loftus-Hills Young Investigator Award (2015).

Research emphasizes understanding how ecological and genetic factors drive adaptation, with projects on climate change impacts, invasive species (e.g., cheatgrass), and crop improvement in sorghum. He leads the Lasky Lab, mentoring over 30 students and researchers since 2015. Ongoing studies include work on African Arabidopsis populations, Striga parasitism, and genomic approaches to adaptation.

Publications span topics like genomic responses to climate, museum herbarium genetics, and ecological forecasting. The lab collaborates internationally, including with the Global Sorghum Meeting and BromeCast projects on invasive species dynamics.