Emily Josephs

Emily Josephs is an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Davis. Her work focuses on evolutionary genetics of wild and domesticated plants, particularly genotype-environment interactions, phenotypic plasticity, and transposable element dynamics.

• Education: Ph.D. (University of Toronto), Postdoc (UC Davis)
• Affiliated Programs: Ecology, Evolution & Behavior Program; Genetics & Genome Sciences Program

Her research integrates population genomics and quantitative trait analysis across diverse plant species:

• Capsella bursa-pastoris: Investigates invasive establishment, leaf shape variation, and introgression
• Zea mays (Maize): Studies transposable element polymorphisms and highland adaptation
• Chamaecrista fasciculata: Collaborative climate change response research

The lab develops open-source tools like SWIF-TE for genomic analysis and emphasizes methods for structured populations. Recent publications highlight:

• Climate adaptation in Capsella (AJB 2023)
• Gene expression plasticity in Arabidopsis (Evolution Letters 2021)
• K-mer diversity patterns in plant meta-analysis (2025)

Emily leads a dynamic team with multiple NSF grants, and her lab members regularly present at Evolution and Botany conferences. She teaches graduate courses on statistical methods in ecology and undergraduate research opportunities.