I am Dr. René Shahmohamadloo, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Washington State University working for Dr. Seth Rudman. I previously held a Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellow and NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow working with Dr. Seth Rudman and Dr. John Fryxell. I completed my PhD under Dr. Paul Sibley. As reflected in my cross-training, my research sits at the intersection of ecotoxicology, evolutionary biology, and genomics, with a focus on how populations respond to anthropogenic environmental stress.

Earth’s soils and waters are now pervasively influenced by human-derived contaminants, posing ongoing challenges for biodiversity and environmental sustainability. My work addresses a central question: when do anthropogenic stressors lead to predictable biological responses, and when do they instead drive populations toward resistance evolution, demographic extinction, or broader ecological disruption?

To answer this, I combine large-scale, replicated experimental evolution, toxicological assays, and genomic analyses to connect exposure histories to organismal, demographic, and population-level outcomes. A defining feature of my research is the use of manipulative, multi-generational field experiments that impose realistic chemical stress regimes, allowing direct tests of evolutionary and ecological responses under naturalistic conditions. A major goal of my work is to help transform ecological risk assessment by integrating evolutionary, demographic, and genomic evidence into how anthropogenic stressors are evaluated, moving beyond short-term toxicity thresholds toward frameworks that better protect humans, ecosystems, and biodiversity.

Publications

( ‡ co-first authors | † undergraduate or graduate mentee )

Preprints

Rudman, S.M., Faber-Hammond, J.J., Sherman, R.E., Shahmohamadloo, R.S., MacMillan, H.A., Jeyasingh, P.D., Schmidt, P.S. (2026). Ecology stoichiometry and life history theory, not the identity of genomic variants, predict rapid adaptation. doi: 10.1101/2025.11.11.687836

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Gabidulin, A.R.†, Andrews, E.R.†, Rudman, S.M. (2026). Microbiome evolution plays a secondary role in host rapid adaptation. doi: 10.1101/2025.06.27.661976

Peer-reviewed

Prileson, E.G., Campagnari, B., Clare, C.I., Gabidulin, A.R., Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Rudman, S.M. (2026). Overwintering drives rapid adaptation in Drosophila with potential costs to insecticide resistance. Evolution, 80(1), 55-66. doi: 10.1093/evolut/qpaf205 (PDF)
Digest feature: Evolution (PDF)

Tissier, M.L.‡, Shahmohamadloo, R.S.‡, Guzman, L.M.‡ (2025). Pesticide risk assessment in a changing world. Glob. Change Biol., 31: e70203. doi: 10.1111/gcb.70203 (PDF)

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Gabidulin, A.R., Andrews, E.R., Fryxell, J.M., Rudman, S.M. (2025). A test for microbiome-mediated rescue via host phenotypic plasticity in Daphnia, Proc. R. Soc. B., 292: 20250365. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0365 (PDF)

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Fryxell, J.M., Rudman, S.M. (2025). Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance increases trait variation but is not adaptive. Evolution, 79(6), 1033-1043. doi: 10.1093/evolut/qpaf050 (PDF)

Schiller, L., Tissier, M.L., Davis, A.C.D., Lamb, C.T., Mayer, S.O., Menzies, A.K., Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Vanderwolf, K.J. (2025) Hopeful insights from wildlife recoveries in Canada, FACETS, 10: 1-17. doi: 10.1139/facets-2024-0084 (PDF)
Media coverage: The Narwhal, The Canadian Press

Shahmohamadloo, R.S.‡, Rudman, S.M.‡, Clare, C.I., Westrick, J.A., De Meester, L., Fryxell, J.M. (2024). Intraspecific diversity is critical to population-level risk assessments. Sci. Rep., e13022. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-76734-x (PDF)

Shahmohamadloo, R.S.‡, Tissier, M.L.‡, Guzman, L.M.‡ (2024). Risk assessments underestimate threat of pesticides to wild bees. Conserv. Letters, e13022. doi: 10.1111/conl.13022 (PDF)
Media coverage: The CNRS, USC Dornsife

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Frenken, T., Rudman, S.M., Van West, P., Ibelings, B.W., Trainer, V.L. (2023). Diseases and Disorders in Fish due to Harmful Algal Blooms. Climate Change on Diseases and Disorders of Finfish in Cage Culture (3rd Ed). CABI, Oxfordshire, UK. doi: 10.1079/9781800621640.0010 (PDF)

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Bhavsar, S.P., Ortiz Almirall, X., Marklevitz, S.A.C., Rudman, S.M., Sibley, P.K. (2023). Cyanotoxins accumulate in Lake St. Clair fish yet their fillets are safe to eat. Sci. Total. Environ., 874, 162381. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162381 (PDF)
Media coverage: CBC News, CBC Listen, The Globe and Mail, CBC News, The Weather Network

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Bhavsar, S.P., Ortiz Almirall, X., Marklevitz, S.A.C., Rudman, S.M., Sibley, P.K. (2023). Lake Erie fish safe to eat yet afflicted by algal hepatotoxins. Sci. Total. Environ., 861, 160474. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160474 (PDF)
Media coverage: CBC News, CBC Listen, The Globe and Mail, CBC News, The Weather Network

Hataley, E.K.†, Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Ortiz Almirall, X., Harrison, A.L., Rochman, C.M., Zou, S., Orihel, D.M. (2022). Experimental evidence from the field that naturally weathered microplastics accumulate cyanobacterial toxins in eutrophic lakes. Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 41(12), 3017-3028. doi: 10.1002/etc.5485 (PDF)

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Febria, C.M., Fraser, E.D.G., Sibley, P.K. (2022). The Sustainable Agriculture Imperative: The need for an Agrosystem Approach to Meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Integr. Environ. Assess. Manag., 18(5), 1199-1205. doi: 10.1002/ieam.4558 (PDF)
Media coverage: The Rockefeller Foundation, Farmtario, U of G News
Semi-finalist video: Video file

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Ortiz Almirall, X., Simmons, D.B.D., Bhavsar, S.P., Poirier, D.G., Sibley, P.K. (2022). Fish tissue accumulation and proteomic response to microcystins is species-dependent. Chemosphere, 287, 132028. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132028 (PDF)

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Ortiz Almirall, X., Simmons, D.B.D., Lumsden, J.S., Bhavsar, S.P., Watson-Leung, T., Vander Eyken, A.†, Hankins, G.†, Hubbs, K.†, Konopelko, P.†, Sanarcki, M.†, Strong, D.†, Sibley, P.K. (2021). Cyanotoxins within and outside of Microcystis aeruginosa cause adverse effects in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Environ. Sci. Technol., 55(15), 10422-10431. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.1c01501 (PDF)
Award: 2022 IFHAB Best Paper Award

Guo, Y., O’Brien, A.M., Lins, T.F., Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Ortiz Almirall, X., Rochman, C.M., Sinton, D. (2021). The Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa in the Presence of Nanoplastics. ACS ES&T Water, 1(7), 1596-1607. doi: 10.1021/acsestwater.1c00090 (PDF)
Award: 2021 ACS ES&T Water Best Paper Award

Shahmohamadloo, R.S. (2020). Mentoring with trust. Science, 369(6508), 1270. doi: 10.1126/science.369.6508.1270 (PDF)

Anaraki, M.T., Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Sibley, P.K., MacPherson, K.A., Bhavsar, S.P., Simpson, A.J., Ortiz Almirall, X. (2020). Optimization of an MMPB Lemieux Oxidation method for the quantitative analysis of microcystins in fish tissue by LC-QTOF MS. Sci. Total Environ., 737, 140209. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140209 (PDF)

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Simmons, D.B.D., Sibley, P.K. (2020). Shotgun proteomics analysis reveals sub-lethal effects in Daphnia magna exposed to cell-bound microcystins produced by Microcystis aeruginosa. Comp. Biochem. Phys. D., 33, 100656. doi: 10.1016/j.cbd.2020.100656 (PDF)

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Ortiz Almirall, X., Bhavsar, S.P., Poirier, D.G., Sibley, P.K. (2020). Assessing the toxicity of cell-bound microcystins on freshwater pelagic and benthic invertebrates. Ecotox. Environ. Safe., 188, 109945. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109945 (PDF)

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Ortiz Almirall, X., Holeton, C., Bhavsar, S.P., Poirier, D.G., Sibley, P.K. (2019). Adopting a culture technique to produce and sustain high concentrations of microcystins by Microcystis aeruginosa in laboratory. MethodsX, 6, 2521-2535. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2019.10.024 (PDF)

Gene, S.M.†, Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Ortiz, X., Prosser, R.S. (2019). Effect of Microcystis aeruginosa-associated microcystin-LR on the survival of 2 life stages of freshwater mussel (Lampsilis siliquoidea). Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 38(10), 2137-2144. doi: 10.1002/etc.4527 (PDF)

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Lissemore, L., Prosser, R.S., Sibley, P.K. (2017). Comparative evaluation of four biosolids formulations on the effects of triclosan on plant-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal interactions in three crop species. Sci. Total. Environ., 583, 292-299. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.067 (PDF)

Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Lissemore, L., Prosser, R.S., Sibley, P.K. (2016). Evaluating the effects of triclosan on three field crops grown in four formulations of biosolids. Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 36(7), 1896-1908. doi: 10.1002/etc.3712 (PDF)

Prosser, R.S., Lissemore, L., Shahmohamadloo, R.S., Sibley, P.K. (2015). Effect of biosolids-derived triclosan and triclocarban on the colonization of plant roots by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Sci. Total. Environ., 508, 427-434. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.12.014 (PDF)