Education

Doctor of Philosophy 2012

Alex completed his PhD in Physiology, cell, and developmental biology at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Dr. W. Reuben Kaufman (retired). His thesis focused primarily on the reproductive physiology of the blood-sucking Southern African bont tick Amblyomma hebraeum.

PhD Thesis: Rising from the ashes; an unanticipated failure with the engorgement factor voraxin leads to advances in three areas of tick biology: Developmental abnormalities and parthenogenesis, identification of a Coxiella-like symbiont and the molecular characterization of vitellogenesis in the southern African bont tick, Amblyomma hebraeum Koch (1844).

Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) 2005

Alex completed his four-year BSc (Honours) degree in Genetics at the University of Alberta. His undergraduate thesis was completed under the supervision of Dr. Michael Deyholos (currently at UBC Okanagan), and was focused on the vascular patterning of Arabidopsis thaliana.

BSc Honours Thesis: A GFP-enabled leaf and cotyledon vascular patterning mutant screen of Arabidopsis thaliana.