Laura McMillan (Post Doctoral Fellow)

My academic adventure began at the University of Western Ontario in London, where I received my B.Sc. with honours specialization in Animal Physiology and a minor in Classical Studies. During these years, I worked with Dr. Brock Fenton to examine different morphologies of bat larynges using microcomputed tomography (MicroCT) technology. Being a part of Dr. Fenton's lab for a number of years is what really got me interested in research.

I then moved to Ottawa where I studied under Dr. Jayne Yack at Carleton University. I completed my M.Sc. in biology studying hearing in butterflies (yes, butterflies have ears!). I had a lot of fun in this lab as I acquired skills collecting extracellular nerve recordings, building a portable physiology rig, performing microdissections, and imaging with SEM and light microscopes.

Presently, I find myself in this wonderful lab studying the effects of illness induced anorexia on invertebrates. My studies here centre around looking at possible trade-offs between the immune system and the detoxification system of the caterpillar Manduca sexta. While investigating this particularly interesting phenomenon I incorporate the use of behaviour, biochemical assays, as well as molecular genetic techniques. Using this variety of methods allows me to address my question of interest from a number of different angles.  

Laura McMillan:  laura.mcmillan@dal.ca