i) What is your contribution to the MedAID project?
In the MedAID project I am part of the WP3 which is called ‘Genetics and Breeding’. The general objective of WP3 is to develop genomic technologies and techniques to improve selective breeding for improved performance of seabass and seabream fish. I work with Prof Ross Houston at Roslin, and we are collaborating with colleagues at NOFIMA on the creation of a combined-species (seabass-seabream) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. A SNP array is a technology that allows the high-throughput genotyping of tens of thousands of SNPs distributed throughout the genome in an individual of a species. To develop the SNP array, we will sequence the whole genome of several population samples from both seabass and seabream fish species. Molecular probes for these SNPs will then be placed on the array.Continue reading
Mediterranean roots. Of Greek origin meaning “wisdom”, Sofia was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Sofia is also a very popular girls’ name in many Western and Latin countries, as well as among partners of the MedAID H2020 Project. For many years, an actress (Sophia Loren) made us to believe that Sofia was a synonym of Mediterranean… beauty. More recently, Sophia has been used in Artificial Intelligence to name the world’s 