Rate My Professor Alissa Packer

Alissa Packer is an Associate Professor of Biology and Department Head in the Biology Department at Susquehanna University. She earned her Ph.D. from Indiana University and B.S. from Dickinson College. As a plant ecologist, Packer investigates how plants employ direct and indirect defenses against natural enemies, including the roles of extrafloral nectaries and hydrogen cyanide in protecting against herbivores. Her research explores whether these defenses are induced in response to herbivore damage. She has contributed to understanding plant-soil biota interactions, spatial patterns of seedling mortality due to soil pathogens, and negative feedback mechanisms in plant growth cycles, particularly in species like black cherry (Prunus serotina) and Prunus avium. Notable publications include “Simulated Herbivory Induces Extrafloral Nectary Production in Prunus avium” (with Christine Pulice, Functional Ecology), “Service Learning in a Non-majors Biology Course Promotes Changes in Students’ Attitudes and Values About the Environment” (International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2009), “Soil Pathogens and Spatial Patterns of Seedling Mortality in a Temperate Tree” (Nature, 2000), “Soil Pathogens and Prunus Serotina Seedling and Sapling Growth Near Conspecific Trees” (Ecology, 2003), and “Development of Negative Feedback During Successive Growth Cycles of Black Cherry” (Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2004). Her scholarly work has garnered over 3,000 citations according to Google Scholar.

Packer teaches a range of courses, including the introductory Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, upper-level General Ecology, Plant Physiology, Plant-Animal Interactions, and a Science and Society course for non-majors. She serves as Director of the Common Reading Program and is a member of the Committee on Teaching and Learning at Susquehanna University. Additionally, she holds memberships in the Ecological Society of America and the National Science Teachers Association. Her integration of service-learning into biology courses has demonstrated positive impacts on students’ environmental attitudes and values.