معرفی
Jennifer Lau is a Professor in the Department of Biology at Indiana University Bloomington's College of Arts and Sciences, where she leads the Lau Lab focused on community and evolutionary ecology. She holds a Ph.D. in Population Biology from UC Davis (2005) and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota (2005-2007). Her office is located in Biology Building 159B, with email contact at jenlau@iu.edu.
Research Focus: Dr. Lau investigates how human-caused global changes impact plant ecology and evolution, emphasizing four key areas:
- Rapid evolution and microbial interactions in climate change adaptation
- Evolutionary repeatability in plant-microbe mutualisms
- Genetic variation effects on prairie restoration success
- Global warming impacts on biological invasions
Publication Trends: Analysis of 50+ publications reveals consistent focus on plant-soil feedbacks under climate stress, evolutionary consequences of nitrogen deposition, and microbial mediation of plant adaptation. Recent work (2022-2025) emphasizes drought responses, mutualism dynamics in warming scenarios, and agricultural applications.
Awards:
- American Society of Naturalists Young Investigator's Award (2008)
Advising & Funding: Current graduate advisees include Mackenzie Caple, Guillaume Dury, Emma Boehm (NSF GRFP recipient), Lana Bolin, and Elizabeth Yablon. Lab funding sources include:
- IU Research and Teaching Preserve (cicada-plant evolution project)
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
- IU Environmental Resilience Institute (community college outreach)
Lab Focus: The Lau Lab conducts large-scale field manipulations (e.g., prairie restorations with genetic diversity treatments) and greenhouse experiments simulating future climates. Current projects examine cicada emergence impacts on mutualisms and southern seed source viability under warming.
