Upcoming events hosted by or involving Genetics Otago will be listed here. Please check back regularly for updates. A calendar of events that may be of interest to our members can be found at the bottom of this page and in the sidebar of other pages on this site, please note that this includes events hosted outside of Genetics Otago.
VISG Seminar Series
The Virtual Institute of Statistical Genetics (VISG) Hub is a key part of Genetics Otago, providing a platform for researchers to collaborate and exchange knowledge and expertise in statistical genetics. The VISG Hub hosts seminars, workshops, and other events to promote statistical genetics research and foster collaboration between researchers.
We’re excited to announce our monthly genetics research seminars, aimed at connecting researchers in the field. The seminars will commence in May 2023 and will be hosted by GO’s Virtual Institute of Statistical Genetics (VISG) Hub along with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Otago. These seminars will be available in person or via Zoom, and all are welcome.
Date: 3rd Thursday of the month
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Schedule
- May: Associate Professor Phil Wilcox, University of Otago
- June: Professor Mik Black, University of Otago
- July: Dr Ludovic Dutoit, University of Otago – please note that this seminar will be held on the 27th of July rather than the 20th due to ICG.
- August: Dr Setegn Alemu, AgResearch
- September: Ee Cheng Oi, Abacus Bio
- October: Franziska Weik, Beef + Lamb NZ Genetics – Cancelled
- November: Dr Jane Symonds and Dr Megan Scholtens, Cawthron – please note that this seminar will be held on the 17th of November rather than the 16th due to the Genetics Otago Annual Symposium.
Zoom Details
If you would like the Zoom details for this event, please contact us.
Next Seminar
The next seminar will be held on Friday the 17th of November, 11 am in Biochemistry Seminar Room G13 and will be given by Dr Jane Symonds and Dr Megan Scholtens, Cawthron Institute.
Title: Environmental resilience in aquatic species
Abstract: The New Zealand aquaculture sector faces growing vulnerability due to climate change, with marine heatwaves already causing elevated summer mortality rates in Greenshell mussels and king (Chinook) salmon. To tackle these challenges, selective breeding and genomic selection offer long-term solutions. Temperature challenge models, implemented in controlled tank environments, have been developed for both species. So far, this approach has been applied successfully to test more than 230 pedigree king salmon families and 21 Greenshell mussel families. Heritabilities for time to death at elevated temperature were high (0.34 to 0.48) suggesting that selection for improved thermotolerance is possible.
Megan Scholtens
Megan is a geneticist within the Aquaculture Group at Cawthron and is involved in a number of research projects across the ‘Shellfish Aquaculture’ and ‘Finfish Climate Change Adaptation’ platforms. Megan specialises in the application of genetic and genomic methodologies to enhance the understanding of how genes affect traits such as growth, development, behaviour, reproduction and immunity to improve the efficiency, resilience and survivability of aquatic species. In addition, Megan contributes to research activities of the Aquaculture team by integrating the experimental biology with commercial production to help provide solutions for clients and deliver tangible outcomes for the aquaculture industry.
Jane Symonds
Jane is a Senior Scientist and Team Leader in the Aquaculture Group at Cawthron. Jane’s focus is the application of research to enhance sustainable commercial production with a specific interest in king salmon farming and selective breeding. She has over 30 years of experience in this field. As a science programme leader she oversees a wide range of multi-disciplinary collaborative projects with internal and external partners, including salmon feed efficiency, genomics, behaviour, health, physiology, microbiomics, climate change adaptation, data science and developing trials to selectively breed resilient and efficient king salmon. Implementation of research for sustainable and profitable aquaculture development is a key driver for Jane. Dr Symonds is also a Senior Adjunct Researcher at the University of Tasmania and helps supervise multiple post-graduate students.
If you have any questions about this seminar series please contact us.
Calendar of Events
The below is a calendar of events hosted by GO as well as events hosted by others that may be of interest to our members. If you have an event you would like us to include please contact us here.
Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
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Stata Software Workshop – Biostatistics Centre
9:00 am
Health Sciences Division 3MT® heat,
2:00 pm
Health Sciences Division 3MT® heat,
@ Barnett Lecture Theatre,
Jul 7 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
This entertaining event gives thesis students the chance to present their research to a large audience while competing for a number of generous prizes, with the overall University of Otago Doctoral winner going on to participate in the online Asia-Pacific[...]
BHRC 2021 Annual Conference
5:30 pm
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Sciences Division 3MT® heat
10:00 am
Sciences Division 3MT® heat
@ Mellor Laboratories Seminar Room 2.02,
Jul 9 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
This entertaining event gives thesis students the chance to present their research to a large audience while competing for a number of generous prizes, with the overall University of Otago Doctoral winner going on to participate in the online Asia-Pacific[...]
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Bioethics Seminar: Trustworthy Governance of Health and Genomic Data: Lessons from Singapore
1:00 pm
Bioethics Seminar: Trustworthy Governance of Health and Genomic Data: Lessons from Singapore
@ Bioethics Seminar Room 119, Bioethics Centre, Level 1,
Jul 19 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Bioethics Seminar Trustworthy Governance of Health and Genomic Data: Lessons from Singapore Angela Ballantyne Associate Professor of Bioethics Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice, University of Otago (Wellington) In this presentation I will report the preliminary findings from[...]
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Department of Botany Seminars
12:00 pm
Department of Botany Seminars
@ Room 2.13Physical Education Building,
Jul 21 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Department of Botany Seminars—Semester Two 2021 Wednesdays at 12 noon in the Physical Education Building, 55 Union St West, room 2.13 (unless otherwise stated please see schedule below). For those who cannot attend in person, you are welcome to join[...]
Career planning for early career researchers and postgraduate students
12:30 pm
Career planning for early career researchers and postgraduate students
Jul 21 @ 12:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Consider your career prospects with a PhD Course Duration: 2 Hours Platform: Face-to-face Overview: Introducing the Career LEAN Canvas to provide a structure for planning your career. Contents: Understanding yourself and your options are the basis of starting to consider your career development.[...]
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What statistical software should I use (and how much does it really matter)?
11:00 am
What statistical software should I use (and how much does it really matter)?
@ Room 033, Adams Building,
Jul 26 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Feeling like there are too many statistics programs and/or not sure which one (or ones) would be best for you? Come along to this seminar to learn about the software biostatisticians work with, find out why we use certain programs[...]
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2021 BMS Postgraduate Symposium
2021 BMS Postgraduate Symposium
@ The Terrace Lounge, 1st Floor, Union Building
Jul 28 all-day
The School is delighted to announce the 2021 BMS Postgraduate Symposium will be held on Wednesday 28th July 2021. Venue: The Terrace Lounge, 1st Floor, Union Building Registration and Abstract submissions now open! A flyer for display and registration[...]
Department of Botany Seminars
12:00 pm
Department of Botany Seminars
@ Room 2.13Physical Education Building,
Jul 28 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Department of Botany Seminars—Semester Two 2021 Wednesdays at 12 noon in the Physical Education Building, 55 Union St West, room 2.13 (unless otherwise stated please see schedule below). For those who cannot attend in person, you are welcome to join[...]
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