Grace Freundlich

Dr. Grace Freundlich is an Assistant Professor at Furman University, specializing in plant defense strategies and ecological interactions. Her research focuses on plant-insect-microbe interactions, pollination ecology, and chemical ecology, with a particular interest in how plant chemistry influences species interactions. She has been honored with an NSF postdoctoral scholar award and a GRFP Honorable Mention.

Dr. Freundlich holds a Ph.D. from the University of Louisville and a B.S. from Dickinson College. Her postdoctoral work at Utah State University explored herbivore-induced shifts in floral chemistry and their effects on pollinators and microbes. She also led an NSF-funded study on floral microbiota and trait evolution in Brassica rapa.

Her research integrates chemical, molecular, and field techniques to study plants' roles in mediating mutualistic and antagonistic interactions across ecosystems. Recent work includes investigating organic orchard management, rhizobia-arthropod communication, and the ecological costs of plant defense mechanisms.

In advising, she collaborates with students on projects such as plant chemistry studies and pest management strategies. Her lab (Freundlich Lab) emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, with implications for both agriculture and conservation biology.