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We are extremely grateful to all funders and partners (past and present) that have supported our research
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Funded projects:
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Jan 2023 to Dec 2025. Horizon Europe Infrastructure: "A European infrastructure for farmed animal genotype to phenotype research". Led by Research Institute for Livestock Biology (FBN), with the Roslin Institute, INRAe, Wageningen University and Research, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and the European Forum of Farm Animal Breeders. Award value 2.65M Euros. Co-Investigator: Prof. Dan Macqueen.
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Nov 2022 to April 2026, Competitive PhD project funded jointly by the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) and Pharmaq (Zoetis): "Cross-national genomic surveillance of viral pathogens to support disease control in Atlantic salmon aquaculture". Principal Investigator: Prof. Dan Macqueen. Award value: £147,000
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May 2022 to April 2025, BBSRC Responsive grant: "Immune cell dynamics predictive of vaccine protection in Atlantic salmon"
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Principal Investigator: Prof. Dan Macqueen. Award value of £500,839. Collaboration with Prof. Sam Martin (University of Aberdeen) and MSD Animal Health.
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Dec 2021 to 2025. Research Council of Norway grant: "COOLFISH: Improving Atlantic salmon health and welfare by metabolic programming”. Award of £215,000 (out of approx. £1M award) to Prof. Dan Macqueen as work package leader. Project led by Dr Erik Burgerhout (Nofima, Norway)
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Jan 2021 to July 2021. Data Driven Innovation BEACON Building Back Better Open Call: COVID-19 Response & Accelerating Economic and Social Recovery in Edinburgh & South East Scotland. A data-driven single cell sequencing approach to support innovation in Atlantic salmon aquaculture. Award value: £50k. With Dr Richard Taylor and Dr Rose Ruiz Daniels (Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh).
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May 2019 to April 2023. European Commission Horizon 2020 consortium project: ‘AQUA-FAANG: genome functional annotation supporting sustainable European aquaculture’. See: https://www.aqua-faang.eu/eurofaang.html
Principal Investigator: Prof. Sigbjorn Lien (NMBU, Norway). Deputy project coordinator and WP6 leader: Prof. Dan Macqueen. Award value: €455,000 to Macqueen. Total project value: €6M.
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Jan 2019 to July 2019. BBSRC Institute Strategic Programmes Pump Priming Grant: 'Advancing animal genomics by cost-effective linked-read sequencing'
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Principal Investigator: Dr Dan Macqueen (Roslin). Collaborators: Prof. Ross Houston and Prof. Mick Watson, the Roslin Institute. Award value: £12,000
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Jan 2019 to Dec 2023. BBSRC Aquaculture Initiative Consortium project (BB/S004181/1): ‘AquaLeap: Innovation in Genetics and Breeding to Advance UK Aquaculture Production’.
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Principal Investigator: Prof. Ross Houston, the Roslin Institute. Co Principal Investigator: Dr Dan Macqueen (Roslin). Award value: £332,487 to Macqueen including £40k contribution from the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre. Total award value: approx. £1.5M.
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Nov 2018 to Aug 2022. Grant from the Research Council of Norway: ‘TRANSPOSE: Transposable elements as agents of genome evolution and adaptation following a recent whole genome duplication’.
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Principal Investigator: Prof. Sigbjørn Lien (Norwegian University of Life Sciences). Funded project partner: Dr Dan Macqueen (Roslin). Award value: £107,177 to Macqueen.
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Below awarded while based at the University of Aberdeen (before Oct 2018)
Jan to Dec 2018. NERC pilot grant (NBAF1089): Iso-Seq for improved annotation and analysis of duplicated salmonid genomes
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Principal Investigator: Dr Dan Macqueen. Named researcher: Mr Manu Kumar Gundappa
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Feb 2018 to Jan 2020. BBSRC responsive mode grant for 24 month project: (BB/R008442/1): Understanding the relationship between gill disease and immune status.
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Principal Investigator: Christopher J. Secombes, FRSE, Co-investigator: Dr Dan Macqueen (Aberdeen)
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Jan 2018 to Dec 2020. BBSRC responsive mode grant for 36 month project (BB/R008973/1): Improving resistance to infectious salmon anaemia using genome editing: Novel approaches to tackling viral disease in aquaculture’.
Principal Investigators: Prof. Ross Houston (The Roslin Institute) and Prof. Sam Martin (University of Aberdeen). Co-investigators: Dr Dan Macqueen (Aberdeen), Prof. Christopher Whitelaw (Roslin) and Dr Simon Lillico (Roslin). Researcher co-investigator: Dr Carola Dehler (Aberdeen).
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Oct 2017 to Sept 2019. Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) award for 24 month project: Clinical nutrition and the treatment of Atlantic salmon gill diseases.
Principal Investigator: Prof. Sam Martin; co-investigators: Dr Dan Macqueen, Dr Alex Douglas and Prof. Chris Secombes (University of Aberdeen). Partnered with BioMar (lead industrial partner) and Scottish Sea Farms.
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April 2017 – March 2021. BBSRC International Partnering Award (BB/P02582X/1): Canada: Functional annotation of the Atlantic salmon genome, translation to improved health and performance for Aquaculture.
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Principal Investigator: Prof. Sam Martin (University of Aberdeen). Co-investigators: Dr Dan Macqueen (University of Aberdeen) & Dr Ross Houston (Roslin Institute, Edinburgh). International Partners: Prof. Willie Davidson (Simon Fraser University, BC), Prof. Ben Koop (University of Victoria, BC) and Prof. Matt Rise (Memorial University, Newfoundland).
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April 2015 to March 2017. BBSRC Research Grant (BB/M026345/1): Development of a proteomic platform to facilitate the generation of new and improved vaccines for use in aquaculture.
Principal Investigators: Dr Dan Macqueen & Helen Dooley (University of Maryland). Co-investigator: Dr David Stead (Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen). Collaboration with Prof. Christopher Secombes FRSE (University of Aberdeen).
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October 2016 to September 2020. BBSRC EASTBIO CASE PhD Studentship (BB/M010996/1): Next generation approaches to characterise viral diseases affecting Atlantic salmon.
PhD Student: Michael Gallagher. Lead supervisor: Dr Dan Macqueen. CASE partner: Marine Scotland Science. Co-supervisor: Dr Iveta Matejusova (Marine Scotland Science).
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October 2016 to September 2020. BBSRC EASTBIO PhD Studentship (BB/M010996/1): Development of a proteomics platform to monitor immune responses in non-model vertebrates.
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PhD student: Fiona Bakke. Lead supervisor: Dr Dan Macqueen. Co-supervisors: Dr Helen Dooley (University of Maryland, USA); Dr David Stead (Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen).
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October 2015 to September 2019. BBSRC industrial CASE PhD studentship (BB/M016455/1): Characterization & exploitation of copy number variation in Atlantic salmon.
PhD Student: Alicia Bertolotti. Lead supervisor: Dr Dan Macqueen. In collaboration with Xelect Ltd, a company involved in development of genetic markers for broodstock selection in fish aquaculture. Co-academic supervisor: Prof. Sam Martin.
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Oct 2015 to September 2018. Elphinstone PhD Scholarship: The role of whole genome duplication in the diversification of fish
PhD student: Manu Kumar Gundappa. Supervisor: Dr Dan Macqueen. With additional funding support granted by a stipend scholarship from the Government of Karnataka, India.
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November 2014 to March 2018. PhD studentship funded by the University of Aberdeen: Improved flesh growth in farmed salmon – a functional proteomics approach.
PhD Student: Dwight Causey. Lead supervisor: Dr Dan Macqueen. Co-supervisor: Prof. Sam Martin. 50% sponsored through the Aberdeen Developmental Trust, 50% through Elphinstone Scholarship.
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April 2016 to March 2020. Research Council of Norway grant: The effect of narrow banded LED light on development and growth performance
Named international collaborator: Dr Dan Macqueen. Principal Investigator: Prof. Jon Vidar Helvik (University of Bergen, Norway)
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April 2015 to March 2019. Research Council of Norway grant: Light & Salt – thyroid hormone deiodinase paralogs & the evolution of complex life-history strategy’.
Named international collaborator: Dr Dan Macqueen. Principal Investigator: Prof. David Hazlerigg (University of Tromsø)
Past Awards:
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Aug 2018. Collaborative funding from Vaxxinova (Vaccine Company). 'Sequencing of salmonid alphavirus genomes isolated from cell culture'. Award Value: £3,750.
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Principal Investigator: Dr Dan Macqueen. Named researcher: Mr Michael Gallagher (PhD student)
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July to Aug 2017. MASTS Small Grant: ‘Nanopore sequencing the causative virus of infectious salmon anaemia – a problem disease for Scottish salmon aquaculture’. Award value: £3,000.
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Principal Investigator: Dr Dan Macqueen. Named researcher: Mr Michael Gallagher (PhD student)
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Jul 2017 to Aug 2017. £1,500. MASTS Small Grant: “Novel sequencing approaches to characterize viral diseases in salmon aquaculture: an undergraduate research experience”. For one month undergraduate placement.
Principal Investigator: Dr Dan Macqueen.
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April 2014 to May 2015. Royal Society Research Grant: A joint proteomic-transgenic investigation of intracellular protein signalling linking growth to immunity and nutritional status in fish.
Principal Investigator: Dr Dan Macqueen. In collaboration with Dr Bob Devlin (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), Dr David Stead (University of Aberdeen) and Prof. Sam Martin (University of Aberdeen).
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July to September 2015. BBSRC EASTBIO Research Experience Placement: Characterizing sites of myoglobin expression in teleost hearts.
10 week research placement for Mike Gallagher; supervised by Dr Dan Macqueen.
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January to June 2014. MASTS visiting fellowship: Interaction between growth and stress signalling pathways in skeletal muscle of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).
Principal Investigators: Dr Dan Macqueen and Prof. Ian A. Johnston (University of St Andrews). With Dr Eduardo Fuentes (visiting fellow) (Universidad Andres Bello, Chile).
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Jan 2013 to Dec 2013. NERC Pilot Grant (NBAF704): Lineage specific evolution by unresolved diploidization after whole genome duplication.
Principal Investigator: Dr Dan Macqueen
