Dr. Alexander Hynes

Farncombe Family Chair in Phage Biology

Dr. Hynes joined McMaster in Sept 2017, following a postdoc in Canada's premier bacteriophage lab. He's been working on phages since 2008, and intends to continue doing so until he understands them. Working in the Farncombe Family Institute for Digestive Health Research has allowed him to pair his expertise on phages with world-class research programs centered on the human gut microbiome. You can read more about his research interests here.

Given the historical dearth of phage researchers, he feels a responsibility to re-introduce phages to undergraduate curricula and has worked to do so in Newfoundland, Québec, and now Ontario. In 2020, he founded Phage Canada, a pan-Canadian network of scientists working on phages, spanning over 40 research teams. Both through Phage Canada and his 13-year affiliation with the Canadian Society of Microbiologists, he has championed scientific communication.

Back when he knew how to achieve some semblance of work-life balance (or at least, before having kids made it apparent he wasn't doing as well in that department as he had previously thought), his hobbies included teaching Salsa dancing and contract work on hobby game design. In addition to being able to write about himself on his website in the third person, he can do so fluently in English, French, and Spanish.