Dr. Kait Al is the Miriam Burnett Research Chair in Urological Sciences, and Assistant Professor of Microbiology & Immunology and Surgery (Division of Urology). Her lab is based at Lawson Research Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital. She completed her undergraduate, doctoral, and postdoctoral training here at Western in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Her research focuses on translational microbiology, specializing in the human microbiome and its role in urological health and disease. Her research integrates bacteriology, next-generation sequencing, bioinformatics, and experimental in vitro and in vivo models to identify mechanisms of host–microbe interactions and develop microbiome-based approaches to improve patient care.