[1] Bergelson was previously and James D. Watson Distinguished Service Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago, where she chaired the department for ecology and evolution.
[5] She served as the section chair for Biology of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012.
[6] Bergelson is known for her research on the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana, its ecology and the evolution of plant-pathogen interactions.
Her early research examined interactions between insects and trees,[7] spatial patterns in trees[8] and weeds,[9] and the energetic cost to plants to resist insects.
[14][15] Bergelson's research has also examined genetic adaptations in plants to recent climate change.