Michelle La Rue is a conservation biologist and ecologist based at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.

[1] Her research focuses on using satellite imagery to understand polar animals, including emperor penguins and crabeater seals.

[6][7][8] LaRue started her scientific career at Minnesota State University, Mankato where she completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in ecology.

This involved researching the food habits of hoary bats by dissecting and identifying the remains of insects in their guano.

[6][7] She went on to gain a Master's degree in Zoology at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale where she studied the habitat and dispersal of cougars.