Apply now for the Free AQUAEXCEL2020 distance learning course: “Training in the use of the fish & chips tool”

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Course description

How do you improve analysis and functional interpretation of transcriptomic data? Training in the use of the FISH & CHIPS tool can help! FISH & CHIPS is a database containing public transcriptomic data related to fish species in various physiological conditions. The bioinformatic tool can be used to extract genes which would have similar expression patterns and thus could be characteristic of fish biological responses. By comparing data obtained in your experiment with data sets of microarrays or RNAseq obtained in various fish species, we can find a common transcriptional signature. Information given by samples of each experiment with a common signature is a powerful way to explore functional roles associated with these signatures. This training course presents the FISH & CHIPS tool and explains how to carry out such meta-analysis and interpret your set of genomic data.

Course content

This course will teach participants how to develop a meta-analysis of transcriptomic data and how to use the FISH & CHIPS tool to do so. The course also provides the opportunity to practice on a case study. Following this training, users should be able to develop analyses of their own data sets.

Target audience

This course is designed for people who want to improve analysis and functional interpretation of their transcriptomic data obtained in fish. This includes postgraduate students, PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and researchers with a basic knowledge on genomic and gene expression.

Location: Online.

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Low Trophic Aquaculture Value Chain Report

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Photo credit: Wald Fredriksen

Under the slogan “Our Future – Growing from water”, the Aquaculture Europe 2019 conference addressed innovative ways to support the aquaculture economy. This year, the European Commission DG RTD unit “Healthy Oceans & Seas” and the EATiP co-organised a full day programme called “Low impact – High output”. It addressed future opportunities of new value chains in aquaculture, specifically targeting low trophic species.

Through three consecutive sessions, major outcomes of European technology and innovation efforts contributing to ensuring food and nutrition security were presented, followed by industry-driven panel discussions where the audience had the chance to participate. The sessions provided a dissemination arena and high visibility of EU support to the sector. They also generated ideas for future research by linking Horizon 2020 project findings to opportunities for industrial applications and uptake. The AQUAEXCEL2020 session aimed to create a forum for engagement and exchange between researchers and potential industry beneficiaries, focusing on presenting innovative solutions generated by the project with potential high impact on the aquaculture industry.

Read the full report from the EU-EATiP Day here:

Involved in aquaculture research? Aquaexcel2020 16th call for access is now open

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Researchers involved in aquaculture can now apply for full EC-funded access to top-class research facilities, with AQUAEXCEL2020,now that the 16th call for access is open.

The following is retrieved from the AQUAEXCEL2020 website, where you can read the original post. 

On a regular basis, the AQUAEXCEL2020 project will invite proposals from European research groups for scientific research that utilises the facilities of any of the participating aquaculture research infrastructures. The AQUAEXCEL2020 project unites major aquaculture experimental facilities with capacity to undertake experimental trials on a selection of commercially important fish aquaculture species and system types. These installations are made available to the research community for Transnational Access (TNA) with the support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. Transnational Access involves a research group in one country collaborating with one or more AQUAEXCEL2020 Infrastructures that are located in a different country to the applicant, and which offer facilities and expertise not available in their own country.

The facilities available cover the entire range of production systems (cage, pond, recirculation, flowthrough, hatchery and disease challenge); environments (freshwater, marine, cold, temperate and warm water); scales (small, medium and industrial scale); fish species (salmonids, cold and warm water marine fish, freshwater fish and artemia); and fields of expertise (nutrition, physiology, health & welfare, genetics, engineering, monitoring & management technologies).

Interested researchers can propose projects that involve visits of one or in some cases two people to the chosen research infrastructure for periods of up to three months. Access to the research infrastructures and associated travel and subsistence expenses will be paid for under the project. The establishment of new transnational collaborations is strongly encouraged, as well as the participation by SMEs.

A wide range of different facilities is available for researchers who apply for TNA (transnational access).

Application demands

In considering the exploitation potential, attention will be given to how the work contributes to meeting the objectives of EATiP, as defined in the thematic Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (“The Vision”) (www.eatip.eu). The EATiP strongly encourages TNA applications related to Social Licence, Precision Farming and Resource Efficiency. However, applicants are also welcome to submit applications outside of these thematic areas.

Application procedure

Information on the facilities offering Transnational access is available at this project website and in the documents below. Applicants are required to contact their preferred partner facility to discuss the project design and costs for the proposed project, before the submission of an application. Applications must be prepared and submitted via the TNA online application system. Each person involved in the application must first create an individual username to access the system. Further guidance on using the system is provided at that website.

This Call for Access is NOW OPEN.

The normal processing time for applications is 3 months, so applications for TNA projects should be made well in advance!

Note: Before using the TNA application system, please add the following e-mail address to the  “safe sender list” in your anti-spam or e-mail software to ensure you receive all communications from the system: info@biowes.org

The documents below contain the necessary information related to the 16th Call for Access: 

Further details about the scheme and full instructions for preparing and submitting proposals are given in these documents. For further queries regarding the Call for Access please contact John Bostock: j.c.bostock@stir.ac.uk

Do you have a project idea but need help to find the right facility? Please contact the orientation committee of AQUAEXCEL2020 at aquaexcel-OC@inra.fr. 

Would you like to suggest expert reviewers (including yourself) for the AQUAEXCEL2020 TNA programme? Please complete this form and return it with nominee CV to John Bostock: j.c.bostock@stir.ac.uk

Aquaexcel2020 newsletter issue 7: Biomonitoring of fish performance, training courses and events

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AQUAEXCEL2020 is a €9.7 million European Union-funded Horizon 2020 research infrastructure project that aims to support the sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector in Europe. It does so by integrating the European aquaculture community, and providing it with crucial tools, facilities, and novel services to conduct advanced fish research.

In Aquaexcel’s newest newsletter you can – among other things, read all about biosensor-technology for monitoring overall performance of fish, and the technical courses which Aquaexcel2020’s has done, and plan to do.

Biosensor monitoring of fish performance

Dr. Jaume Pérez-Sánchez from the Institute of Aquaculture Torre de la Sal (IATS-CSIC) in Spain is one of the team behind AE-FishBIT – implanted biosensors for remote monitoring of the overall performance of fish. AE-FishBIT has had some exciting developments over the past 2 and a half years. Read on to find out more!

Aquaexcel training courses

“By 2020, AQUAEXCEL2020 will have organised nine pioneering technical training courses in total, focusing on different aspects of aquaculture experimentation”, Aquaexcel2020’s newest press release reveals.

Also, two Aquaexcel2020 training courses recently has been completed: ‘Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) Technology‘ (in Wagening University, Netherlands) and ‘Laboratory Animal Science for Aquatic Research Facilities‘ (in Institute of Marine Research, Bergen).

Read about this and more in the full Aquaexcel Newsletter, below:

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Agenda for the Aquaxcel2020 Brokerage event 2019

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Make sure not to miss the second Aquaexcel2020 brokerage event. It is taking place as part of the EU EATiP Day October 9, at Aquaculture Europe 2019 in Berlin.

Find out more about the agenda, topics, panel and presenters below: 

 

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From Research Innovation to Industry Application: AQUAEXCEL2020 Brokerage Event 9th of October

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AQUAEXCEL2020 press release: September 2019

 

AQUAEXCEL2020 is a leading aquaculture research project funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 programme, which integrates leading European aquaculture research facilities and enables them to work together to support the sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector in Europe. The innovative research carried out within the project’s framework is focused on producing industry-applicable outputs and bringing the aquaculture sector in Europe to a new level.

The latest industry-relevant outputs from the project will be presented and discussed at the upcoming AQUAEXCEL2020 industry brokerage event, taking place on the 9th of October 2019 (15:40hrs – 18:00hrs), as part of the EU EATiP Day at the Aquaculture Europe 2019 conference in Berlin. This forum for engagement and exchange will be hosted by the European Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Platform (EATiP) and AquaTT, both partners in AQUAEXCEL2020.

Supporting research innovation to industry application is key to AQUAEXCEL2020, and involves maintaining active engagement between researchers and aquaculture industry stakeholders. This brokerage event provides an excellent opportunity to share with aquaculture industry stakeholders some of the many innovative outputs emerging directly from the varied research within the AQUAEXCEL2020 project, and also through its Transnational Access (TNA) programme. The TNA programme funds access to 39 top aquaculture research facilities across Europe, offering researchers the possibility to undertake experimental trials on commercially important aquaculture fish species and system types.

 

Important pitches regarding European aquaculture

The industry brokerage event will include pitches of several knowledge outputs of high potential for the European aquaculture industry. The outputs to be presented were selected by the AQUAEXCEL2020 Industry and Research Advisory Panel (IRAP) which comprises high-level professionals from the aquaculture industry and research sectors.
The schedule will include a presentation from Dr. Jovanka Lukic on the effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria applied either through live feed or commercial dry feed, on growth and microflora of larval pike perch. Also presenting on the rapidly evolving area of fish feed will be Ana Basto, who will discuss outcomes of research on European seabass fed by the mealworm Tenebrio molitor. The principal aim of this research was to assess the use of large quantities of insects as protein sources to replace fishmeal in diets for sea bass, and to examine possible effects on their growth and welfare. Insect-meal replacements are a popular research topic, and Dr. Stavros Chatzifotis will highlight their findings looking at three different types of insect meal replacements.

Along with fish nutrition there will be various other aquaculture research areas covered. Dr. Josep Calduch-Giner will present a protocol for early life management for optimal fish performance, highlighting surprising findings in relation to low O2 (hypoxic) conditions at early life stages of gilthead sea bream and its impact later in life. In terms of fish disease, Dr. Carla Piazzon will present on gene expression analysis of Atlantic salmon gills and how it reveals certain key molecules during amoebic gill disease, one of the main health challenges for the marine Atlantic salmon industry worldwide. It is expected that the findings could contribute to a more timely and accurate detection of the disease which will prevent stock losses and improve fish welfare. Please visit the project website for a full list of topics which will be covered at the event.

 

Presenting innovative findings and developments from AQUAEXCEL2020

In addition to the high potential knowledge outputs, innovative findings and developments from the AQUAEXCEL2020 project will be presented, one of which is AE-FishBIT. This tiny device is designed to be attached to the operculum of farmed fish for individual monitoring of their metabolic traits. The newly patented tool is the result of collaboration amongst biologists, engineers and bioinformaticians from two AQUAEXCEL2020 institutes. The makers are now looking for collaborators to manufacture the product and /or license the patent to bring the device to market.

The next and final AQUAEXCEL2020 industry brokerage event will be held at next year’s Aquaculture Europe 2020 event in Cork (Ireland), presenting the latest high-potential industry-relevant outputs that will be resulting from the final year of the project.

To find out more about the recent research findings from AQUAEXCEL2020 and their applicability to industry, please visit the project’s website: www.aquaexcel2020.eu

 

About AQUAEXCEL:

  • AQUAEXCEL2020 is a research and innovation action funded under the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020. The project runs for five years from 2015 to 2020, with a total budget of €9.7 million funded by the EU.
  • The AQUAEXCEL2020 consortium includes 22 partner organisations offering access to 39 top level aquaculture facilities in 12 European countries. The project is coordinated by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in France. AquaTT (Ireland) is the project dissemination partner.

15TH CALL FOR ACCESS NOW OPEN!

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Apply for fully EC-funded access to top class research infrastructures with AQUAEXCEL2020

15th Call for Access NOW OPEN!

On a regular basis, the AQUAEXCEL2020 project invites proposals from European research groups for scientific research that utilises the facilities of any of the participating aquaculture research infrastructures. The AQUAEXCEL2020 project unites major aquaculture experimental facilities with capacity to undertake experimental trials on a selection of commercially important fish aquaculture species and system types. These installations are made available to the research community for Transnational Access (TNA) with the support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. Transnational Access involves a research group in one country collaborating with one or more AQUAEXCEL2020 Infrastructures that are located in a different country to the applicant, and which offer facilities and expertise not available in their own country.

Deadline: 13 September 2019

More details and to apply: see attached flyer, and https://aquaexcel2020.eu/transnational-access/call-access

Download

Further details about the scheme and full instructions for preparing and submitting proposals are available on the website. For further queries regarding the Call for Access please contact John Bostock: j.c.bostock@stir.ac.uk.

Interested people with a project idea who need a little help finding the right facility can contact our orientation committee at aquaexcel-OC@inra.fr.

We also have a number of “success stories” from previous TNA users – https://aquaexcel2020.eu/transnational-access/tna-projects which can be used as inspiration. Here TNA users have described how they utilised this opportunity and how the TNA has benefited their research and careers.

AQUAEXCEL2020 is a research infrastructure project funded under the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme and coordinated by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA). The project aims to further support the sustainable growth of the European aquaculture sector. For more details see the project website: https://aquaexcel2020.eu/

AQUAEXCEL 2020: REGISTRATIONS now open for free “Fish Nutrition and Feeding” Training Course

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Apply Now for the Free AQUAEXCEL2020 Training Course: “Fish Nutrition and Feeding”

 

Applications are now being accepted for the AQUAEXCEL2020 training course entitled “Fish Nutrition and Feeding”. This is a free face-to-face training course provided by Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) UMR1419 NUMEA (Nutrition, Métabolisme, Aquaculture), France with the assistance and expertise of Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) (Spain), Wageningen University (WU) (the Netherlands) and University of Stirling (UoS) (United Kingdom). The course will take place at INRA Aquapôle, Saint Pée sur Nivelle, France between 18-22 November 2019.

AQUAEXCEL2020 aims to bring together, integrate, and open up highly diverse key national and regional aquaculture Research Infrastructures in Europe to all European researchers, from both academia and industry, ensuring their optimal use and joint development. AQUAEXCEL2020 will organise nine pioneering technical training courses in total, focusing on different aspects of aquaculture experimentation. These courses present a valuable opportunity for researchers and technicians in this field to further their experience.

This course is designed for professionals from the fish feed industry who are interested in updating their knowledge on fish nutrition and new aquafeeds formulation. Students who are interested in specialising in fish nutrition are also welcome on this course. The course is also open to companies producing new feed ingredients (insect, micro and macroalgae, pre or probiotics) who would like to discover opportunities to enlarge their market to the fish feed production sector.

 To apply, please send the following documents to aquaexcel@aquatt.ie, with the subject line: AQUAEXCEL2020/TrainingCourse_Nutrition_INRA

The application deadline is 29 July 2019

For more information, check the promotional leaflet and the link to the relevant part of the AQUAEXCEL2020 website. Please note that applicants should not make travel arrangements unless you have received official confirmation of selection as there is only a limited number of places available.  

Survey on aquaculture outreach

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Public perception has been identified by EATiP as a major issue in reaching  a social license to grow. The EU-funded AORA project has performed a study in the US and Canada, but are still missing the feedback from European stakeholders to be able to provide an adequate analysis of the situation here.

In addition to the draft results presented and discussed at the EATiP AGM in Brussels, we kindly ask the aquaculture stakeholders to please answer the survey on aquaculture outreach at http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/seafoodfuture/survey by July 15 at the latest. It should not take more than 10-15 minutes.

An analysis of the results will be made available to through EATiP.  Please spread the invitation to your colleagues and collaborators.

Thank you in advance for your contribution!

AQUAEXCEL2020: Registrations Now Open for Free Infection Trials Course

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Apply Now for the Free AQUAEXCEL2020 Training Course: “Planning and Conducting Experimental Infection Trials in Fish”

 

Applications are now being accepted for the AQUAEXCEL2020 training course entitled “Planning and Conducting Experimental Infection Trials in Fish”. This is a free face-to-face training course provided by Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) Aqua (Denmark) in collaboration with Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) (Spain), Nemzeti Agrárkutatási és Innovációs Központ (NAIK) (Hungary) and University of Stirling (UoS) (United Kingdom). The course will take place at DTU Aqua, Lyngby, Denmark between 11-15 November 2019.

AQUAEXCEL2020 aims to bring together, integrate, and open up highly diverse key national and regional aquaculture Research Infrastructures in Europe to all European researchers, from both academia and industry, ensuring their optimal use and joint development. AQUAEXCEL2020 will organise nine pioneering technical training courses in total, focusing on different aspects of aquaculture experimentation. These courses present a valuable opportunity for researchers and technicians in this field to further their experience.

This course may be of interest to PhD students, researchers, fish farm health managers, and research employees such as those in the pharma industry with an interest in experimental studies of infectious diseases.

 

To apply, please send the following documents to aquaexcel@aquatt.ie, with the subject line: AQUAEXCEL2020/TrainingCourse_Infection_DTU

The application deadline is 22 July 2019

For more information, check the promotional leaflet and the link to the relevant part of the AQUAEXCEL2020 website. Please note that applicants should not make travel arrangements unless you have received official confirmation of selection as there is only a limited number of places available.