Michele Johnson trained in population biology at Washington University in St. Louis with a dissertation focusing on the evolution of behavioral ecology in Caribbean lizards. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in behavioral neuroscience at Michigan State University, studying the neuromuscular mechanisms underlying social behavior in lizards. In 2009, she joined the Department of Biology at Trinity University, where her laboratory combines approaches from behavioral ecology and behavioral neuroscience to understand the evolution of behavioral diversity in lizards. She was awarded the 2014 Outstanding Mentor Award from the Council on Undergraduate Research, Biology Division. Her work has been covered extensively on a blog for anole lizard enthusiasts, www.anoleannals.org.