Career Opportunities

Postdoctoral Research Officer (Fish Epigenetics & Microbiome Markers)

We have an exciting opportunity to join the Bioscience Department at Swansea University as a Postdoctoral Research Officer where you will conduct research on epigenetic and microbiome markers of disease and stress resistance in fish.

This role is part of the Cure4Aqua project in collaboration with 30 partners across Europe.

Cure4Aqua is funded by the EU Horizon Europe/Innovate UK, and is a €4.8 million, 4.5-year project that will develop new approaches to prevent aquatic fish diseases by introducing and validating novel technologies for early detection of diseases, while also supporting the advancement of alternative treatments to replace pharmaceuticals in disease control.

Candidates will have a PhD/MRes in Biology/Bioinformatics and have clear evidence of expertise in analysing in analysing transcriptomic, epigenomic and/or microbiome data sets, you will also be able to evidence the ability to actively engage in and contribute to writing and publishing research papers, particularly for refereed journals.

Click on the Current Vacancies link below for further details 

FULLY FUNDED PHD SCHOLARSHIP: BEHAVIOURAL METRICS OF WELFARE IN AQUACULTURE

Ensuring good welfare is central for the sustainable growth of the aquaculture industry but because domestication of aquatic organisms is relatively recent compared to terrestrial plants and animals, knowledge and protocols for assessing welfare in aquaculture is limited. Stereotyped behaviours, phenotype divergence, and poor cognition are often associated with living in simplified and predictable environments typical of aquaculture setting but their importance for domestication and welfare are not clear.

In this collaborative PhD project the student will develop and test behaviour-based operational welfare indicators (OWIs) that can improve the welfare of selected farmed species. Using state-of-the art facilitires at the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR) we will assess the behavioural changes that occurr under artificial rearing in order to improve welfare and inform artificial selection progammes. A combination of behavioural assays, machine vision and deep-learning will be used.

The project is a collaboration between Swansea University, the University of Bristrol and a commercial sponsor (Visifish https://visi.fish/), and will be embedded in the IGNITION EU project. Susbtantiall networking opportunities and unique career skills are offered through the interaction with 18 leading research partners and commercial sponsors.

We are looking for an enthusiastic student interested in developing a research project at the interface between aquaculture, behavioural studies, and AI.

Click on the link below for further details and to apply

MSC BY RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP: DEVELOPING OPERATIONAL WELFARE INDICATORS FOR THE

Intensive farming of the whiteleg shrimp using recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS) is developing rapidly across the world, particularly in Europe, where it is an emergent aquaculture species.

A total of 447 tons of shrimp are currently being produced each year in 13 European countries (Euroshrimp) and the sector is growing rapidly. However, very little is known about crustacean welfare, and there is a need to develop Operational Welfare Indicators (OWIs) for those species that are farmed most intensely, like the whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Crustaceans lack an adaptive immune system and this poses particular challenges for understanding their stress response and develop welfare indicators.  

This project will be developed alongside the Horizon Europe IGNITION project and will contribute to the sustainable development of the industry.  

It will develop and test OWIs for farmed shrimp that can help improve the sustainability and market acceptability of farmed shrimp.

The specific objectives are two: 

1. Develop, calibrate and test OWIs for whiteleg shrimp 
2. Assess the merits of behaviour-based welfare metrics for whiteleg shrimp in relation to stress and infection

Click on the link for further information and to apply Postgraduate Opportunities