Ian Lewis
BSc, PhD
Dr. Ian Lewis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary. He is the Alberta Innovates- Health Solutions (AIHS) Chair in Translational Health-Metabolomics, Biochemistry. Dr. Lewis completed his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his post-doctoral training at Princeton University.
The Lewis Research Group investigates the connection between metabolic adaptation and virulence of human pathogens. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop new diagnostic methods to identify high risk patients and novel antimicrobial therapies to control infections. One of the key challenges his laboratory faces is unraveling the complex host-pathogen metabolic dynamics that occur during infections. To address this challenge, they use state-of-the-art mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology to comprehensively quantify the flow of molecules between pathogens and their hosts. This metabolomics approach is a powerful strategy for connecting metabolic phenomena with specific genes and is essential for understanding the metabolic determinants of virulence.
Dr. Lewis is a Co-Applicant on the grant. He has a long-standing interest in zoonotic diseases and has been looking for an opportunity to collaborate with his colleague, Dr. George Chaconas, on this subject. He will contribute to research activities in detection and diagnostics (Pillar 1).