Michael Wilkie recieved his PhD in 1994 from McMaster University under the supervision of Professor Chris Wood. Since 2004, he has been a Professor of Biology at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada studying how fishes respond to environmental stressors such as ammonia, hypoxia and temperature. A particular focus is on the physiology of phylogenetically ancient lampreys and hagfishes, in order to gain more insight into how nitrogenous waste excretion and ion regulation evolved in vertebrates. Some of his current work on sea lamprey is also aimed at more effectively controlling this invasive species in the Great Lakes of North America.