Packer is a plant ecologist interested in how plants use direct and indirect defenses to protect themselves against natural enemies. She and her students examine the role extrafloral nectaries and hydrogen cyanide play in plant defense against herbivores. They are interested in whether these defenses are increased in plants when they experience damage. Recent publications include “Simulated Herbivory Induces Extrafloral Nectary Production inPrunus avium”, coauthored by Christine Pulice ’08 and published in Functional Ecology, and “Service Learning in a Non-majors Biology Course Promotes Changes in Students‚ Attitudes and Values About the Environment,” published inThe International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

She teaches the introductory course Ecology and Evolutionary Biology along with upper-level courses in General Ecology, Plant Physiology, and Plant-Animal Interactions, as well as a Science and Society course for non-majors. She is director of the Common Reading Program and a member of the Committee on Teaching and Learning. Packer is a member of the Ecological Society of America and the National Science Teachers Association.