Melanie Wills, PhD
Melanie’s interest in biochemistry developed at an early age, and she has been captivated by life at the sub-cellular scale ever since. She completed her doctoral degree in molecular and cellular biology at the University of Guelph as a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Vanier Fellow, during which she investigated biochemical “wiring” in cells that cause them to misbehave and give rise to diseases like cancer. Recognizing the unmet need for mechanistic research into Lyme and associated diseases, she switched gears to focus on microbiology and the consequences of host infection. Melanie has been a vocal advocate for better research on Lyme disease, promoting rigorous scientific study, thoughtful dialogue, and ethical stewardship of tick-borne illness. In 2017, Melanie was appointed as the inaugural Director of the G. Magnotta Lyme Disease Research Lab at the University of Guelph, which she developed from the ground up with a mandate to improve diagnostic testing and treatment. The lab now operates several independent and interdisciplinary research programs that span fundamental discovery science to clinical application.
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