Ray Lu

Project 18-004

Dr. Ray Lu is a molecular biologist who has been working in the field of animal stress responses since 1995 when he was studying Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) as a postdoctoral fellow at Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon. IBR is a prevalent respiratory disease associated with Bovine Herpesvirus (BHV-1). BHV-1 can establish latent/dormant infections in cattle which shed viruses during times of stress; when stress hormone (cortisol) levels increase, the virus infection will spread to other cattle. He identified two animal genes (Luman and Zhangfei) that function in animal stress responses, which are believed to be hijacked by these viruses during reactivation from latent infection. He identified another animal protein Luman-recruitment factor (LRF) in Guelph, which regulates stress through Luman. Lu has 7 years experiences in study molecular genetics of stress in mouse models.

Dr. Lu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph. Full bio. 

Project 18-004 - Effect of genetic stress susceptibility on pork meat quality