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Governor-General’s Medal recipient Kyle Kevin Biggar, a 26-year-old native of Summerside, P.E.I., is fascinated by the ability of some animals to survive extreme environmental conditions. He was introduced to research in this field during his undergraduate studies in biology and soon discovered Kenneth Storey’s laboratory at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University.

Storey would become Biggar’s most influential and inspiring professor as Biggar completed his doctorate in the study of the molecular basis of animals who survive such environmental stresses as freezing, low oxygen and hibernation.

“(Storey) has an infectious curiosity about science,” says Biggar, “something I hope to one day replicate for my own future students.”

Biggar’s own curiosity about science began as he listened to his father’s stories of pet hatchling turtles that would freeze in their bowls overnight during the cold winter months only to thaw out and be fine the next morning.

A notable project for Biggar during his years at �Ӱ�ԭ�� was a collaboration with researchers from all over the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Slovakia and India, who sequenced the first turtle genome. The project searched DNA sequences for clues to how the turtle survives freezing of extracellular body fluids and several months of complete oxygen deprivation.

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