Oceanic Institute of HPU Researcher Receives Grant to Study Shrimp Genomics

Director of the Shrimp Research Department Dustin Moss, Ph.D., (B.S. in Marine Biology, HPU '98) has been awarded a two-year, $310,000 grant by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to study shrimp genomics. The title of the grant is "Investigating low salinity performance of Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, using a genomic approach to benefit an emerging U.S. inland shrimp farming industry." OI will be the lead institution on this project and will collaborate with a biotech company and an inland shrimp farm on the U.S. mainland. 

The project will start in September, and Moss is seeking a graduate student to conduct thesis research, as well as two undergraduate/graduate interns to assist with the research. Working on research for this grant will be an excellent opportunity for students interested in quantitative genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, invertebrate/shrimp biology, and/or sustainable aquaculture. Interested students should contact Dr. Moss at dmoss@hpu.edu.   

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is the parent agency of NIFA, which awarded this grant to Moss through their Aquaculture Research program. The purpose of the Aquaculture Research program is to support the development of an environmentally and economically sustainable aquaculture industry in the U.S. and generate new science-based information and innovation to address industry constraints.  

Aerial view of Oceanic Institute of HPU facility; by Bill Paris, Crew Hawaii Television LLC