The von Wettberg lab studies evolutionary ecology, ecological genetics, and conservation genetics in crops, crop wild relatives, and rare plants. Research done in the lab encompasses agroecology and conservation as well as ecology and evolution. We are interested in understanding how plants tolerate environmental stress, how stress tolerance evolves, and how variation in tolerance affects interactions with other organisms. In the lab we work with a broad range of tools from genomics and next-generation sequencing, to physiology, to field biology. We try to collaborate widely to test hypotheses in a number of ecological communities from beautiful places abroad and close to home in Vermont. We hope to foster knowledge within local and global communities, working with other scienctists and farmers to grow better crops.

In the lab this year (2020-2021) Giovanna Sassi is working on a project on Hops, Bailey Kretzler is heading a pasture-managment and intercropping study, Mackenzie Laverick is working on a bio-drilling tuberous-legumes project, and Matthew Foster is working with Hemp and Native Abenaki Beans. Work is also being done with winter peas, seed storage, and genetic diversity.

In past, Eric has wokred with wild chickpeas in Turkey and Ethiopia as part of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Chickpea.

Projects with mangos, North American Medicago species, and several rare plants in South Florida and the Caribbean have occured under his guidance.

Recently, Andi Kur headed a project on corn domestication and Edward Marques worked on many projects dealing with winter peas. Work has also been done on Fenugreek, lupine, and various other legumes.

USAID, Feed the Future Program 2013-2018

A Reverse Introgression approach to creating climate resilient chickpea (Co-PI, Dr. DR Cook)

NSF, Plant Genome Research Program 2013-2017

Deducing the genomic footprint and functional impact of chickpea domestication on nitrogen fixation

(co-PI, Dr. DR Cook)

HHMI Faculty Teaching Fellow 2012-2013

Improvement of undergraduate evolution teaching at Florida International University

NSF, Plant Genome Research Program 2008

Genomics of salinity tolerance in desert Medicago truncatula

PI S. Nuzhdin, UC Davis based lead Co-PI with D. Cook, S Strauss, M. Friesen

NIH, National Research Service Award 2007-2009

Genomics of Nickel tolerance in Arabidopsis lyrata

Philo Ridge Farm

UVM Horticulture Farm

UVM Greenhouse