Boulder Audubon Presents: Dr. Valerie McKenzie on Microbes and Wildlife in a Rapidly Changing World
Matias Comina
📅 Tuesday, October 28, 2025
🕖 7:15 PM – 8:45 PM (Doors open 7:00 PM)
📍 Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder
5001 Pennsylvania Ave, Boulder CO 80303
💻 Also available via Zoom (link posted day of program here: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/october-2025-program)
Program Description
Microbes play a powerful role in the health of wildlife—from beneficial partners to harmful pathogens. At CU Boulder’s McKenzie Lab, Dr. Valerie McKenzie and her team study how these microscopic organisms shape animal lives and ecosystems.
In this talk, Valerie will explore why emerging pathogens are increasing and how they threaten wildlife worldwide, including Colorado’s amphibians. She’ll focus on a fungal disease driving global amphibian declines, and share how her lab’s research on the skin microbiome of Colorado boreal toads is uncovering bacteria that can naturally protect toads from infection.
Dr. McKenzie will also introduce a new project using microbes to combat wildlife trafficking, showcasing how microbiology and conservation intersect in surprising and hopeful ways.
About the Speaker
Dr. Valerie McKenzie is a Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EBIO) at CU Boulder. Her research blends parasitology, disease ecology, microbial ecology, and wildlife conservation to understand how human impacts shape the microbes, parasites, and pathogens of wildlife.
Her studies help identify the factors behind disease emergence and inform efforts to protect vulnerable species. She also teaches parasitology, conservation biology, and host–microbe interactions, and serves as Associate Chair of Graduate Studies for EBIO.
Valerie has published over 60 scientific papers and received CU Boulder’s 2024 awards for leadership and graduate mentoring. To learn move visit the lab website https://mckenzielab.com/
Event Details
- In Person: Doors open at 7 PM for socializing; program begins at 7:15 PM. Masks are optional but encouraged (free surgical masks available).
- Online: Zoom room opens at 7:10 PM; program begins at 7:15 PM. Questions taken via chat.
- Access Info: Zoom link posted on the Boulder Audubon website under programs by the day of the program. https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/october-2025-program