Plenary speakers
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Professor Neil Gemmell
Tuesday 19 May 2026 | Plenary Lecture 1
Fishing for Answers: Exploring the Molecular Secrets of Sex Change Biography
Neil Gemmell is a Sesquicentennial Distinguished Professor and holds the AgResearch Chair in Reproduction and Genomics at the University of Otago. His research blends ecology, population, conservation, and evolutionary biology with leading-edge genomic technologies. A recurring theme in his research is that of reproduction, with past and current projects investigating mating systems and mate choice, sperm function and sperm competition, the effects of age on fertility, sex determination and socially controlled sex change. It is this later work on natural sex change in fishes that he will focus on at the upcoming ISRPF conference, presenting the latest work on the genetic and epigenetic events that orchestrate socially controlled sex change in fishes. |
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Professor Anna Wargelius
Thursday 21 May 2026 | Plenary Lecture 2
Use of biotechnology to control reproduction in Aquaculture Biography
Gene expression pattern and level reflects to a significant extent the ongoing anatomical, morphological and physiological activities in a tissue and/or organism. My field of interest is functional genomics in Atlantic salmon with focus on the reproductive mechanisms. We currently use gene editing to knockout (KO) genes in Atlantic salmon, to be able to explore molecular mechanisms related to the reproductive system, in particular germ cell specification and early sexual development, and we have produced sterile fish by ablation of the primordial germ cells or preventing maturation. Both aims explore fields which can result in sterility models for aquaculture that could solve major bottlenecks related to un-wanted sexual maturation and genetic interactions with wild populations. We have also in recent years explored the wild genome pool of Atlantic salmon with the main aim to identify genetic regions under selection for primarily reproductive traits, such as time at maturity and smoltification. However, studies have also revealed genetic regions /sweeps that probably confer traits associated with disease resistance, behaviour, sea water adaption and feed metabolism. |