Advisory Board and Editors Aquaculture, Fisheries & Fish Science
Jay F Levine
Dr. Levine, Professor and interim department head in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Professor in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, North Carolina State University.
His research work, initially focused on arthropod-borne diseases and in particular Lyme disease. Dr. Levine has also coordinated studies focused on shellfish safety, marine finfish, numerous veterinary health problems in companion animals, and ecosystem health. The work of this laboratory, the Aquatic Epidemiology and Conservation Laboratory (AECL) focuses on some of the most imperiled animals on the planet, freshwater mussels and snails. Dr. Levine, his staff and students have been working to further our understanding of these freshwater invertebrates, develop new diagnostic techniques for studying their health and refining techniques that support their conservation and their captive propagation for the augmentation of remaining populations.
Mahmoud Mabrok
Dr. Mahmooud Mabrok is an Assistant Professor of Fish Diseases and Management at the Suez Canal University, Egypt. He is also a senior postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Microbiology, Fish and Infectious Diseases at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
Dr. Mabrok's work broadly concentrates on the development of novel diagnostic tools (PCR-Q PCR, RPA-LFD isothermal amplification for rapid and precise detection of most threatening pathogens, particularly in aquatic species. He also researches multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial strains that may affect animal hosts, with the aim of addressing this newly emerging phenomenon and the related public health concerns. In addition to this, Dr. Mabrok carries out research with the aim of finding an alternative remedy for diseases control and/or treatment of infectious diseases using eco-friendly active ingredients, including herbal extracts, prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics. Recently, he focused on host pathogen interaction, specifically with the intention of investigating host innate and/or adaptive immunity to cope with bacterial infection.
Dr. Mabrok has many international publications in the field of Fish Diseases, Microbiology and Immunology, and currently works as an Academic Editor for PLOS ONE, USA, BMC Research Note Springer Nature, Journal Of Marine Science Hindawi Group. He has also been appointed as a Guest Editorial Board Member in Frontiers in Bioscience, International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Research. He is a scientific reviewer at BMC Research Note, PLOS ONE, Aquaculture, Journal of Fish Diseases, Fish Shellfish Immunology, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, and AMP Express journals.
Fernando Mata
Dr. Fernando Mata has an academic background in Agronomy and Animal Production at the Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal, where he also completed his postgraduate studies in Applied Maths. In addition, Dr. Mata completed his postgraduate studies in Pedagogy for Higher Education at The University of the West of England, UK. The skills gained while studying Maths and Animal Science led to him becoming an Animal Welfare Epidemiologist, the topic of his Doctorate in Veterinary Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.
Professionally, he began his career as a dairy farmer and later moved into academia. He has lecturing experiences both in Portugal (Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre) and in the UK (University of the West of England, Newcastle University, Greenwich University and Wrexham Glyndwr University).
Currently, Dr. Mata is fully focused on research at the Centre for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability in the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo Portugal. Fernando has Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, is a Registered animal Scientist with the British Society of Animal Science and is a Certified Biologist with the Royal Society of Biology. Apart from Animal Welfare Epidemiology, Fernando is interested in Animal Production, and Animal Performance in general.
Grant B McClelland
Professor of Biology at McMaster University, President of the Canadian Society of Zoologists (2019-2020).
My research focuses on the ontogeny, phenotypic plasticity and evolution of muscle metabolism - important for locomotion, thermogenesis, and whole-body metabolic homeostasis. I use mechanistic and evolutionary physiology approaches, and take advantage of "experiments in nature" by studying species that thrive in extreme environments such as high altitude. I do applied research on the impacts of changing temperature, low oxygen, and pollution on the physiology of fishes.
Koji Mikami
Prof. Koji Mikami is Professor of Department of Food Resource Development in School of Food Industrial Sciences at Miyagi University, Japan. He is also President of the Japanese Society of Applied Phycology. Prof. Mikami received his PhD in Plant Science from Hokkaido University in 1990. His area of expertise focuses on the physiology and molecular biology of development and environmental stress response in seaweeds, and the biotechnology of seaweeds (gene transfer and genetic transformation, application of seaweed genes for land green plants).
Daniel C Moreira
My research interests lie in the area of redox processes in biology and medicine. My main line of work investigates the role and underlying mechanisms of redox metabolism (i.e., reactive species and endogenous antioxidants) in animals during the depression of metabolic rate induced by environmental stresses, including projects that examine the modulation of antioxidant systems in animals exposed to oxygen deprivation and during other situations of metabolic depression. More recently and concurrently, I am also involved in the prospection of bioactive natural compounds (e.g., peptides from amphibians, plant extracts and phytochemicals) for health applications, with emphasis on antioxidant molecules.
Barbara Nowak
Barbara is Professor at the University of Tasmania (UTAS), where she leads Aquatic Animal Health research group. Barbara has her PhD from Sydney University and has been working at UTAS since 1991. Her research interests focus on various aspects of fish health, such as fish parasitology, fish immunology and fish pathology. Barbara has published over 200 papers and supervised more than 30 PhD students. She has received awards for her research and supervision of PhD students.
Wayne A. O'Connor
Dr O’Connor is a Senior Principal Research Scientist and Research Leader for Aquaculture at Fisheries New South Wales’ Port Stephens Fisheries Institute. His undergraduate studies were undertaken at Newcastle University and he received his PhD from the University of Technology, Sydney, working on aspects of scallop physiology and reproductive biology. He has 30 years experience in Aquaculture research and has worked on a variety programs including algal culture and the development of propagation techniques for a number of molluscs such as oysters (edible and pearl), scallops, mussels and clams. Currently, Dr O’Connor leads molluscan research programs that range from the development of selective breeding techniques and triploid induction to environmental impact and ecotoxicological evaluations. Dr O'Connor is a member of the editorial boards for the journals Aquaculture and Aquaculture Research. Molluscan Research and Water. He is a Conjoint Professor in Life Sciences at Newcastle University, an Adjunct Professor in Genecology at the University of the Sunshine Coast and a Visiting Fellow at Macquarie University.
Charles Odilichukwu R Okpala
Charles Odilichukwu R. Okpala is a Certified Food Scientist (CFS) - International Food Science Certification Commission (IFSCC-USA), Chartered Scientist (CSci) of the Science Council-UK, Fellow - Linnaean Society of London (FLS), Fellow - Institute of Food Science and Technology (FIFST-UK), Member - International Association of Food Protection (MIAFP-USA), Member - Institution of Agricultural Engineers (MIAgrE-UK), Professional Engineer (PEng-UK), Member - The Federalist Society (USA), among others. Charles' first college education was in Statistics and Computer Applications (CertDiplom, 2002) at the University of Nigeria Nsukka - Nigeria, followed by Agriculture (B.Sc. Hons, 2008) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana. Subsequently, he underwent specialist food science research training (Master of Research [MRES], 2010) at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow-UK, and during that period, undertook chemical engineering training under the European Federation of Chemical Engineers at Koc Universitesi-Istanbul, Turkey(Intensive Lifelong Learning Diploma - Chemical Engineering with distinction, 2009). He recently accomplished an advanced specialist food nutrition technology research training at Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences(UPWr), Wrocław-Poland (Dyplom Doktorski, Ph.D., 2023). He holds an excess of 75 other credentials, for example, Diplomas in Legal Studies, Social Work Studies, Psychology, Workplace Safety & Health, as well as certifications like FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food(USA); HACCP Meat & Poultry(USA); HACCP Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Packinghouse(USA); ServSafe® Instructor/Registered Examination Proctor(National Restaurant Association-USA); ServSafe® Food Protection Manager(National Restaurant Association-USA); Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Train-the-Trainer (Association of Food and Drug Officials, USA); etc. Currently, he is a County Extension Agent at Assistant Professor cadre (Family & Consumer Science) - University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (Richmond County Office), College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia- Athens, USA, and before, Research Scholar - Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław-Poland. Previously held at other notable institutions include Research Fellow at IRBIM CNR (previously known as IAMC CNR) Mazara del Vallo, Trapani-Italy (2015-2016), and Research Scholar (School of Science, 2011-2013)/Research Associate (Global Public Health Unit, 2012-2013) at Monash University Sunway Campus, Malaysia. Adding to being an Extension Educator and Subject Matter Specialist, he freely lends his expertise as an Independent Academic-Research Practice Consultant, Lead Internal Quality Assurer, and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Practitioner, among others. He has over 150 scholarly works in very promising ISI impact factor journals, with over 3000 Google Scholar citations, and over h-index of 25. In addition to being an academic/associate editor with some Scopus-indexed journals, he also serves as a scientific reviewer for over 45 others. He delivered posters/presentations at regional/state/international conferences/seminars. Adding to being a proud Strathclyder, Charles' interests include the following: utilization of animal products in sustainable global food systems; family consumer sciences/extension services; agri-food processing/production/quality; consumer safety/food protection; foodservice industries and their personnel development; environmental public health/epidemiology; qualitative and quantitative research methods; quality management of agrifood products/socio-related aspects of foods. Most essentially, Charles trusts Almighty God to lead him in academic, administrative, and vocational endeavors. Additionally, he is extremely passionate and zealous about ensuring colleagues/students, and community members strive to achieve, excel, and succeed.
Darren M Parsons
Darren completed degrees at the University of Auckland where he used acoustic tracking technology to study fish movement within a marine reserve. He then completed a PhD at North Carolina State University where he investigated the effect of a recreational fishery on spiny lobster. Since 2006 Darren has been at NIWA, where he has investigated a range of fish ecology projects, focusing on the value of juvenile fish nurseries and climate change effects on fish larvae. More recently Darren's work has focused on fisheries monitoring projects such as describing the age distribution of inshore fisheries and estimating relative indices of abundance via trawl and potting survey's and CPUE analyses. In 2017 Darren was co-appointed through the University of Auckland's Joint Graduate School in Coastal and Marine Science.
Ana Pavasovic
Dr. Pavasovic is an academic in the School of Biomedical Sciences at QUT. Her research interests are primarily in the area of physiological and functional genomics of marine invertebrates. Dr. Pavasovic uses molecular and bioinformatic approaches to answer questions relating to stress physiology and novel gene evolution in animal systems.
Xavier Pochon
Team Leader, Molecular Surveillance, Biosecurity Group, Cawthron Institute, New Zealand.
Associate Professor, Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
My research at the Cawthron Institute is highly applied and consist of developing multi-trophic molecular tools for environmental monitoring of marine industries (e.g. aquaculture farms, marine biosecurity in ports and marinas, and deep-sea exploration).
At the University of Auckland, I combine 'real-world' and 'blue-sky' research applications, including; i) investigating functional underpinnings of Symbiodiniaceae in coral reef ecosystems, ii) characterizing microbiomes in aquaculture and natural settings, iii) measuring eDNA and eRNA decay rates in marine invertebrates and vertebrates, iv) studying preferential settlement of marine invasive species associated with marine plastic debris, and v) exploring the diversity and dynamics of open-ocean plankton communities in the Pacific and beyond.