Dr. Laye received a B.S. from UC-Davis in Exercise Biology and a PhD from University of Missouri in Medical Physiology.  Prior to arriving at The College of Idaho he completed post-doctoral research at The Centre for Inflammation and Metabolism in Copenhagen Denmark and The Buck Center for Research on Aging in Northern California.  His previous research interests focus on how physical activity and inactivity alter age related chronic diseases through alterations in the metabolism and molecular pathway.  Dr. Laye has many active research interests which include a collaboration with the Emergency Responders Health Clinic in Boise identifying risk factors for firefighter injury, characterizing the physical activity levels of the campus community, and determine how physiological performance is modified by pyschological stressors and perception.  Most importantly Dr. Laye believes in motivating students to complete research projects which require autonomy, development of mastery, and a sense of purpose.  

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Outside of College of Idaho, Matt remains a competitive runner having won the USA 100 mile Trail Championship in 2013 in a time of 13 hours 17 minutes.  He has run marathons on the roads and trails in 7 different countries with a personal best of 2:23:32 at the Boston Marathon.