Nancy Emery

Nancy Emery serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder, leading research at the intersection of population biology, community ecology, and evolutionary biology to understand plant adaptation in dynamic environments.

Education

• Ph.D., University of California at Davis

Research Focus

Her lab investigates evolutionary mechanisms including dispersal evolution, habitat specialization, and phenotypic plasticity in plants across critical ecosystems: western North American vernal pools, Great Lakes sand dunes, Appalachian rock outcrops, and eastern deciduous forests. Using integrated field experiments, genetic tools, and comparative methods, the research develops frameworks for predicting plant responses to environmental change with direct conservation applications.

Mentorship and Lab Philosophy

Dr. Emery mentors graduate researchers including Dr. Ezra Kottler (now establishing his independent lab), operating through three core principles: methodological integration across experimental and computational approaches, prioritization of curiosity-driven science, and embracing unexpected results as discovery opportunities. The lab's work directly addresses species vulnerability to anthropogenic environmental shifts through hypothesis-driven investigations of tracking, avoidance, and tolerance mechanisms.