Dr. Leslie Lyons is the Gilbreath McLorn Endowed Professor of Comparative Medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Missouri. Her research is primarily focused on heritable diseases and traits and the population dynamics of the domestic cat.  Her laboratory has identified nearly 30% of the DNA variants of cats. She oversees the 99 Lives Cat Genome Sequencing Initiative, an effort to have deep coverage sequencing of cats with inherited diseases and as a SNP resource for the community.  Her work on cat population genetics was developed into a National Geographic Explorer episode “The Science of Cats”.