Dr. Dörthe Becker (2016 - current) is a physiological ecologist interested in the molecular mechanisms by which various stressors are tolerated via acclimation. During her PhD, her research focused on highly conserved stress-induced signaling processes that enable Daphnia to adequately adjust their physiological performance upon environmental change. For her subsequent post-doctoral research with Andrew Beckerman and John Colbourne she broadened her research towards the field of environmental genomics in order to explore the regulatory mechanisms that provide the basis for tolerance, acclimation and phenotypic plasticity. Specifically, her research on different Daphnia genotypes investigated the molecular signatures of predator induced changes in life history and morphology, with particular focus on how these responses are modified by other environmental contaminants (e.g. metals). Her research in the Bergland lab will continue this line of research as part of the on-going project on dynamics of predation induced adaptation in Daphnia.