Mike Moore
​Assistant Professor
I am an evolutionary ecologist and eco-physiologist who studies the evolution of species' ecological limits and the forces that shape species' responses to global change. I'm especially passionate about wetland critters and their conservation.

I got a BS from Gonzaga University in 2011, MS from Murray State University in 2014, and a PhD from Case Western Reserve University in 2019. Before joining CU Denver, I was a Biodiversity Post-Doctoral Fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis from 2019-2022. 

email - michael.p.moore[at]ucdenver.edu

Sarah Nalley
Ph.D. Student                2023-Present

I am interested in animal behavior, evolutionary ecology, and wildlife management, with my past work studying these subjects through the lenses of anthropogenic influence and global change. After my experience as a survivor of the Marshall Fire, I am driven to explore how wildfire and extreme events affect the behavior, ecology, and evolution of wildlife populations. I am currently researching how habitats burned by wildfire impact the sexually selected traits of dragonflies.

email - sarah.nalley[at]ucdenver.edu

* check out this nice profile of Sarah's research and journey to our lab from CU Denver News!

Martha Young
M.S. Student                 2024-Present

My research interests focus on how climate change will alter wildlife ecology and physiology. I am curious about the impacts of increasing temperatures on developmental plasticity and how the existence of plastic or fixed traits will affect organismal physiology and evolution in the future. I am especially interested in the impacts of climate change on freshwater invertebrates, although I have recently expanded my interests to include fish as well.  

email - martha.young[at]ucdenver.edu

My-Lan Le
Research Associate      2025-Present

I've studied both animals and plants throughout my academic career. As a biologist and botanist, I am happiest studying communities of organisms, their distributions, interactions and documenting natural history phenomena. I am especially passionate about community science databases and platforms like iNaturalist. My MS investigated ecological drivers of variation and reproduction of a rare, alpine plant endemic to Colorado. This summer, I'm excited to be studying the physiological responses of arthropods that occupy large elevational gradients, including wolf spiders and dragonflies.

email - my-lan.le[at]ucdenver.edu
Lab Alumni

Dr. Shel McCain
Post-Doc    2023 - 2024

Dr. Alli Pierce
Post-Doc    2024 - 2025