Kyle Lesack

Biography

Working under the supervision of Dr. James Wasmuth, Kyle’s project is entitled: “Identification and Characterization of Detoxification Pathways in Parasites of Livestock.”  The aim of Kyle’s project is to identify and characterize genes involved in the detoxification pathways in parasitic nematodes. The Wasmuth lab have developed bioinformatics strategies for improving gene prediction in draft genome assemblies and phylogenetic methods that Kyle is using to predict which genes are involved in the detoxification of xenobiotic and endogenous compounds. These pathways likely play a role in drug efficacy and, themselves, are potential drug targets. The results of this project are expected to benefit the Canadian livestock industries.